This article reviews the most useful animal models of Parkinson's disease available. Basically they include the model of unilateral nigrostriatal lesion induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rodents and the 1-methy-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6, tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) model of parkinsonism in non-human primates. The major neurochemical and histological alterations found in these two models are also analyzed. Finally, possible applications of these models of parkinsonism are also discussed.