It is expected that the transport of compressed video will become a significant part of total network traffic because of the widespread introduction of multimedial services such as VOD(video on demand). Accordingly, VBR(variable bit-rate) encoded video will be widely used, due to its advantages in statistical multiplexing gain and consistent vido quality. Since the transport of video traffic requires larger bandwidth than that of voice and data, the characterization of video source and traffic modeling is very important for the design of proper resource allocation scheme in ATM networks. Suitable statistical source models are also required to analyze performance metrics such as packet loss, delay and jitter. In this paper, we analyzed and described on the characterization and traffic modeling of MPEG video sources. The models are broadly classified into two categories; i.e., statistical models and deterministic models. In statistical models, the models are categorized into five groups: AR(autoregressive), Markov, composite Marko and AR, TES, and selfsimilar models. In deterministic models, the models are categorized into $({sigma},;{ ho}$, parameterized model, D-BIND, and Empirical Envelopes models. Each model was analyzed for its characteristics along with corresponding advantages and shortcomings, and we made comparisons on the complexity of each model.