The aim of the present study was to identify the relationship between progressive neurobehavioural decline and phospho-tau levels (p-tau181) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the brain in transgenic rats expressing human truncated tau protein. Behavioural analyses, as quantified using the NeuroScale scoring method, revealed that the transgenic rats fell into two main groups based on the baseline behavioural functioning: (1) mild neurobehavioural impairment (MNI, score 3.3–26) and (2) severe neurobehavioural impairment (SNI, score 36–44). SNI transgenic rats showed a significant increase in brain sarkosyl insoluble p-tau181 when compared to their MNI counterparts. In order to determine whether CSF phospho-tau reflects the behavioural decline and increase in sarkosyl insoluble tau in the brain, p-tau181 was measured in the CSF in a longitudinal study. The study showed a significant increase in CSF p-tau181 during the progression of the disease from MNI to SNI. Moreover, increased levels of p-tau181 in CSF correlated with an increase in the sarkosyl insoluble p-tau181 levels in the brain. The increase in the CSF level of p-tau181 during progressive behavioural decline suggests that it may represent a useful surrogate biomarker for preclinical drug development and a potential surrogate endpoint for clinical trials of disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease and related human tauopathies.