The Internet traffic model is the key issue for network performance management, Quality of Service management, and admission control. The paper first summarizes the primary characteristics of Internet traffic, as well as the metrics of Internet traffic. It also illustrates the significance and classification of traffic modeling. Next, the paper chronologically categorizes the research activities of traffic modeling into three phases: 1) traditional Poisson modeling; 2) self-similar modeling; and 3) new research debates and new progress. Thorough reviews of the major research achievements of each phase are conducted. Finally, the paper identifies some open research issue and points out possible future research directions in traffic modeling area.