See text Acanthurinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Acanthuridae, found in the Indo-Pacific and the tropical Atlantic.

Acanthurinae is the nominate subfamily of the family Acanthuridae which was proposed by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1835.

[1] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World recognises 3 tribes within the subfamily, the Acanthurini, Prionurini and Zebrasomoni.

[2] Acanthurinae is subdivided into the following tribes and genera:[2] Bonaparte, 1835 Forsskål 1775 A. lineatus Gill, 1884 C. tominiensis J. L. B. Smith, 1966 Lacépède, 1804 P. laticlavius Winterbottom, 1993 Bleeker, 1863 P. hepatus Swainson, 1839 Z. flavescens FishBase list 57 species in the subfamily, with Acanthurus containing 40 species being the most speciose genus.

[3] Acanthurinae are mainly found in the Indo-Pacific region but five species in the genus Acanthurus extend into the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean but they are absent from the Mediterranean.