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Summary Increased mitochondrial biogenesis by activation of PPAR- or AMPK/PGC-1α-dependent homeostatic pathways has been proposed as a treatment for mitochondrial disease. We tested this hypothesis on three recombinant mouse models characterized by defective cytochrome c-oxidase (COX) activity: a knockout (KO) mouse for Surf1, a knockout/knockin mouse for Sco2, and a muscle-restricted KO mouse for Cox15. First, we demonstrated that double-recombinant animals overexpressing PGC-1α in skeletal muscle on a Surf1 KO background showed robust induction of mitochondrial biogenesis and increase of mitochondrial respiratory chain activities, including COX. No such effect was obtained by treating both Surf1−/− and Cox15−/− mice with the pan-PPAR agonist bezafibrate, which instead showed adverse effects in either model. Contrariwise, treatment with the AMPK agonist AICAR led to partial correction of COX deficiency in all three models, and, importantly, significant motor improvement up to normal in the Sco2KO/KI mouse. These results open new perspectives for therapy of mitochondrial disease., Highlights ► AICAR partially corrects COX deficiency in three mouse models ► Bezafibrate, a pan-PPAR activator, failed to correct COX deficiency in vivo ► Motor performance improves under AICAR in one mouse model ► Activation of the AMPK/Pgc1α axis can correct OXPHOS defects in vivo