The present work was aimed to review modern approaches to simulation of bronchial asthma using laboratory animals. Various modes of immunization and challenge for the induction of typical pathological features in mice are described along with the methods for detection of these markers (including ones for studying murine lung function). Advantages and drawbacks of the models, difficulties and prospects of their application for the study of pathogenesis and preliminary estimation of the safety and efficacy of antiasthmatic therapy (especially antigen-specific immunotherapy) are analyzed. Moreover, the paper presents concise characteristic of short-term adjuvant-free murine models of timothy pollen extract- and ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthma developed in this country.