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In this study, five rhesus macaques were inoculated intravenously with SIVmac251 to establish a model of simian autoimmune deficiency syndrome (SAIDS). Peripheral blood samples were collected at different time points to monitor changes in the total T cell number and T lymphocyte subset. Plasma viral loads, cytokine expression levels and anti-SIV antibody levels were also assayed to acquire certain basic indexes to evaluate disease progression in the rhesus macaque SAIDS model. During the acute stage of infection, plasma viral loads reached a peak at week 1 post-inoculation and lasted for approximately 3 to 44 weeks. The CD3+ CD4+ T lymphocyte count in peripheral blood also transitorily decreased. During the same period, the level of interferon-gamma show an increasing trend, whereas IL-12 levels decreased; IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha were maintained at normal levels or could not be detected. During the asymptomatic and ARC phases, plasma viral loads persisted above 10(4) RNA copies/mL and either increased or declined during the later stages of disease; CD3+ CD4+ counts showed a steadily declining trend and the ratio of CD4 to CD8 decreased during late-stage disease. Moreover, antibodies against viral proteins were detected in the plasma and showed a significant increasing trend, while there were no apparently changes in the levels of IFN-gamma, IL-12, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha. In conclusion, the characteristics of the SIV animal models in our study are similar to those of patients with AIDS. Therefore, the rhesus macaque SIVmac251 infection models can be applied for further studies into AIDS.