Objective To compare the differences in biomechanical properties of embalmed and PMMA femurs under axial loads, so as to provide a more reliable and unified femoral model for replacement. Methods Ten embalmed femurs and ten PMMA femurs were selected, and each femur was instrumented with 49 strain gauges totally on the medial and lateral side. The axial load was applied dynamically up to a maximum of 1.2 kN, and the strain of each strain gauge and load displacement curve were recorded. Results The strain distributions on two types of femur were similar, and the load displacement presented a linear relationship, but the vertical displacements under different loads were significantly different (P<0.05). The axial stiffness value of PMMA femur and embalmed femur were (259.84±24.63) and (600.40±78.56) N/mm, respectively, showing significant difference (P<0.01). The strain concentration parts at the proximal part of two femurs were the same, but the average strain value of the PMMA femur was significantly different from that of the embalmed femur (strain gauge No. 1~5: PMMA femur (-3 420.63±373.31) με, embalmed femur (-1 289.42±417.89) με; strain gauge No. 26~27: PMMA femur (1 748.67±193.98) με, embalmed femur (673.42±104.49) με; strain gauge No. 7~10: PMMA femur (-4 028.25±267.27) με, embalmed femurs (-1 139.01±288.83) με; strain gauge No. 30~36: PMMA femur (1 599.02±194.68) με, embalmed femurs (590.52±153.18) με, P<0.01). The strain concentration parts at the distal part of the two femurs were different. The medial and lateral parts of strain transformation between positive and negative of PMMA femurs were similar to embalmed femurs. The strain-load curves of strain gauge No. 2, 26, 6, 29, 8 and 33 indicated a linear relationship, but the strain value of the two femurs had significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusions The PMMA femur can replace the embalmed femur to a certain degree in biomechanical experiments on the upper part of femur. Due to the difficulty of obtaining fresh femurs, the PMMA femurs provide a more reliable and unified femoral model for replacement.