They defined it as the natural group formed by all descendants of the common ancestor of the type species, Bohaiornis guoi, and Shenqiornis mengi.

[3] Bohaiornithids also had lateral trabeculae (a pair of long and thin bony projections on the rear edge of the sternum) which not only extended backwards, but also outwards.

[2] Most adult bohaiornithids would have been rather similar in size and appearance to each other, and the family lacked the longevity and physical diversity of some other enantiornithean groups, such as the long-snouted longipterygids.

A subadult specimen of an indeterminate bohaiornithid described in 2017 preserved feathers on various parts of the head and body which were analyzed and determined to have been iridescent in life.

Instead, it has been suggested that they were swallowed to help clean the digestive tract, a usage which has been reported in living birds of prey as well as other carnivorous animals with high-fat diets, such as pinnipeds.

Although long claws are known in modern birds of prey, bohaiornithids had short tarsometatarsals (ankle bones) which were dissimilar to most raptors with the exception of members of the subfamily Perninae.

Pengornis Eocathayornis Cathayornis Neuquenornis Gobipteryx Vescornis Eoalulavis Concornis Qiliania Eoenantiornis Shenqiornis Sulcavis Zhouornis Longusunguis Parabohaiornis Bohaiornis The Wang et al. phylogenetic analysis was reused during the description of Linyiornis in 2016.