Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown origin. A wide array of trigger factors contributes to chronicity and severity of the disease. Although the immunopathology of acute and chronic skin lesions has been analyzed to a great extent, processes contributing to initiation of the condition remain unknown. Furthermore, although there is clearly a genetic predisposition for the development of atopic dermatitis and other atopy-related clinical manifestations, the genes involved are unknown still. There is no causal therapy currently available. One approach to increase knowledge about pathogenesis, genetics, and environmental factors in this disease is to develop animal model systems. During the last few years, several models have been proposed that mimic certain features of the phenotype of atopic dermatitis. These model systems will be reviewed in this article and assessed as to the extent to which they contribute to an increased understanding of atopic dermatitis.