Abstract: ObjectiveTo establish the animal model of fatty liver with the basis of etiology and pathogenesis of fatty liver disease and the clinical practice of TCM, which is stable and reliable and is suitable for the activity and efficacy evaluation of TCM. MethodsReferences in the last decades at home and abroad about the animal model of fatty liver were collected, summarized and analyzed. ResultsThere are many models of fatty liver at present, though the mechanisms and applications of models are different and there are many problems in the study of the efficacy evaluation and pathological mechanism of TCM, such as sensitivity, reliability and stability of the model. ConclusionWith the development of modern medicine and the improvement of experimental technology, especially the early metabolic target of fatty liver discovered, the fatty liver model caused by varieties of inducements is possible. Cognition of fatty liver model with TCM and modern medicine is consistency, but also which is own characteristics of viscera. The fatty liver model is established by the study of etiology and pathogenesis and disease-syndrome development regularity, which is suitable for evaluating the activity and efficacy of TCM anti-fatty liver and accords with the disease-syndrome development regularity of TCM, for providing methodology and technology of screening and discovering anti-fatty liver drugs.

Key words: fatty liver, animal model, efficacy evaluation