Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease which mainly affects the axialskeleton and is closely associated with HLA-B27. As most patients are relative young, the ankylosis and deformity of thejoints caused by ankylosing spondylitis have an important impact on social-economics. Laboratory animal models serve as animportant carrier for the studies of pathogenesis, pathological and pathophysiological mechanisms and intervention ofankylosing spondylitis. In this paper, the research progress in spontaneous, inducible and genetic engineering animalmodels has been reviewed, in order to provide a reference for the basic research, new drug development and clinical treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.