Some biologists use Tenrecoidea or Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade and regard Afrosoricida as a junior synonym (even though the rules of the ICZN do not apply above the Linnean rank of family).

Gary Bronner and Paula Jenkins referred to "Afrosoricida" in their chapter in Wilson & Reeder[4] as "... inappropriate since this clade does not include soricids, and could lead to confusion with the soricid subgenus Afrosorex" but still kept it due to their perception that the name was "entrenched in the recent literature" and because of the admittedly confusing history of terms like Tenrecoidea and Tenrecomorpha.

[5] Asher & Helgen[2] presented their views on the appropriateness of these and other high-level taxa, including a response[6] to Hedges,[7] who supported keeping "Afrosoricida".

There is no pronounced body type since they have evolved to occupy a number of small-bodied, faunivorous niches in Madagascar (tenrecines) and mainland Africa (potamogalines).

The generally accepted cladogram of living Afrosoricida is:[13][14] E. granti K. stuhlmanni C. asiatica C. wintoni Chrysospalax trevelyani Calcochloris obtusirostris C. duthieae C. sclateri A. hottentotus A. marleyi A. septentrionalis A. arendsi A. gunningi A. julianae M. lamottei M. ruwenzorii P. velox Hemicentetes semispinosus Tenrec ecaudatus Echinops telfairi Setifer setosus G. aurita O. hova M. talazaci M. dobsoni M. cowani M. brevicaudata M. grandidieri M. mergulus M. pusilla M. majori M. principula M. longicaudata