Objective To summarize the progress of animal experiments on the mechanism of electroacupuncture for spinal cord injury. Methods The literature about experimental research of simple electroacupuncture for spinal cord injury animal models has been searched out from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, PubMed, and Web of Science in the past 5 years. It is summed up according to the literature. Results Through 23 related literature, it has found that the mechanism of electroacupuncture in the treatment of SCI mainly inhibits inflammation, improves microcirculation, promotes the secretion of nutritional factors, and inhibits cell apoptosis. Conclusion Electroacupuncture can block the consequential of secondary damage of SCI from multiple pathological mechanisms, but further research is needed.