This study systematically analyzed the relevant literature on animal models of pulmonary nodules in recent years and integrated the understanding of their etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and syndrome differentiation treatment from both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. On this basis, the application characteristics of existing models were compared, and their clinical consistency was evaluated from both TCM syndrome types and Western medical indicators. The study found that most existing models were established by inducing inflammation, fibrosis, or tumors, and they performed well in simulating the imaging manifestations of pulmonary nodules. In terms of Western medical indicators, the consistency of the models in pathological and imaging indicators was 70%-85%, indicating that they could well simulate the morphology and some pathological processes of nodules, but there were still limitations in dynamic progression and systemic physiological changes. In terms of TCM syndrome differentiation, the pathological manifestations of the models mostly corresponded to the " phlegm" and " blood stasis" categories, with the highest consistency with the syndrome of phlegm and blood stasis combination (about 60%), but the overall simulation of " deficiency syndromes" such as qi deficiency and yin deficiency was significantly insufficient. In summary, although the existing models can reflect some key features of pulmonary nodules, especially in Western medical indicators and phlegm and blood stasis syndrome types, they still lack systematic simulation of TCM overall syndrome differentiation, especially in the dimension of deficiency syndromes. Future research can utilize multi-omics dynamic monitoring technology to construct new animal models that better conform to the TCM syndrome differentiation concept, in order to provide beneficial references for related research on pulmonary nodules. This study systematically reviewed and analyzed recent literature on animal models of pulmonary nodules. By integrating insights from both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine regarding the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical diagnostic criteria, and syndrome differentiation and treatment of pulmonary nodules, the study compared the applications of existing animal models and evaluated their clinical relevance based on two criteria: consistency with TCM syndrome patterns and alignment with Western medical indicators. The findings indicate that current animal models are primarily established through induction of inflammation, fibrosis, or tumorigenesis, all of which effectively replicate the imaging characteristics of pulmonary nodules. The concordance with Western medical indicators ranges from 70% to 85%. Pathologically, these models most closely reflect the TCM concepts of phlegm and blood stasis, showing the highest correspondence-up to 60%-with the phlegm-stasis intermingling syndrome. While there is a measurable alignment between the pathological features of these models and the TCM theory of phlegm and stasis, they remain limited in representing systemic deficiency patterns. Therefore, future research should aim to integrate multi-omics dynamic monitoring approaches and develop more sophisticated animal models that better embody the holistic principles of TCM syndrome differentiation, thereby providing more meaningful support for pulmonary nodule research.