In recent years, quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technologies have played a growing role in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Most of the commercial bone somometers measure speed of sound (SOS) and/or broadband ultrasonic attenuation (EUA) at peripheral skeletal sites. However, the QUS parameters are purely empirical measures that have not yet been firmly linked to physical parameters such as bone strength or porosity. In the present study, the theoretical models for wave propagation in cancellous bone, such as the Biot model, the stratified model, and the modified Biot-Attenborough (MBA) model, were applied to predict the dependence of phase velocity on porosity in cancellous bone. The optimum values for the input parameters of the three models in cancellous bone were determined by comparing the predictions with the previously published measurements in human cancellous bone in vitro. This modeling effort is relevant to the use of QUS in the diagnosis of osteoporosis because SOS is negatively correlated to the fracture risk of bone, and also advances our understanding of the relationship between phase velocity and porosity in cancellous bone.