[2] The English zoologist Philip Sclater described what is now the white-cheeked antbird in 1855 and coined the binomial name Myrmeciza leucaspis.

Because of the principle of priority it retained the original specific epithet leucaspis despite the change of English name.

[4][5] All three are now placed in genus Gymnopithys which was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1857.

[7][8][9][10][11] The subspecies of the white-cheeked antbird are found thus:[7][8][9][10][11] The white-cheeked antbird primarily inhabits humid lowland and foothill terra firme evergreen forest and nearby mature secondary forest.

It is dominant over smaller antbirds but subordinate to larger species of other families such as woodcreepers.

[7][8][9][10][11] The white-cheeked antbird appears to breed in any month in Ecuador, and dependent fledglings have been noted in July in Peru.

[11] Its calls include a "harsh, vibrant 'chirr'...diminishing slightly in pitch and intensity, and abrupt 'chup' notes, usually doubled but also in groups of 3–4".