Abstract: With increasing attention to biodegradable alloys for bone repair with good biocompatibility， mechanical properties， and osteogenic activity， the establishment of reproducible and practical animal models to evaluate their comprehensive performance plays an essential role before clinical application. Animal models such as rodents， rabbits， dogs， sheep， and pigs have been established to assess the availability and comparability of biodegradable alloys for bone repair， since their similar physiological and mechanical environment to the human body. Considering the differences in the size， quantity， implantation time， and biological response of biodegradable alloys for bone repair， low cost， easy access， tolerance to housing， and simple postoperative care and intervention procedure are important prerequisites for ideal animal models of critical-sized bone defects of long bone， to receive an adequate sample size in a short period. Therefore， the physiological characteristics， bone defect length， and repeatability of bone defect animal models using rodents， rabbits， dogs， sheep， and pigs were reviewed， to provide a reference for the study of biodegradable alloys.

Key words: Bone defect, 　Bone regeneration, 　Bioactive materials, 　Biodegradable alloys, 　Animal model