[2][4] Although Buriolestes superficially resembles predatory theropod dinosaurs, with jaws lined by finely serrated and slightly curved teeth well-adapted to a carnivorous diet, possibly preying on small vertebrates and soft invertebrates, it is in fact an early member of the otherwise-herbivorous Sauropodomorpha, the group that gave rise to the giant sauropods.

However, Buriolestes also lacks a small head and enlarged nostrils,[2] which are typical among sauropodomorphs, and the medial condyle on the end of its tibia projects backwards, a distinctive feature (autapomorphy) unique to this animal.

[1] In Buriolestes, the shaft of the pubis is straight, in contrast to later sauropodomorphs, where it has been modified into an expanded "apron", theropods, where it forms a "boot," and all ornithischians, where it is reversed and is parallel to the ischium.

Additional traits differentiate Buriolestes from both later and contemporary sauropodomorphs: the front expansion (preacetabular ala) of the ilium is relatively tall, the outer edges of the pubis are bevelled, the trochanter of the femur forms a shelf, and the metatarsal of the fifth digit on the foot is relatively long.

[5] In 2022, Aureliano and colleagues performed a mirco-computed tomography scan on the postcranial skeletons of some of the earliest saurischian dinosaurs that lived during the late Carnian including Gnathovorax with sauropodomorphs Pampadromaeus and Buriolestes, which showed that the invasive air sac system was absent and that their bones were not pneumatised.

[1] Ornithischia Herrerasauridae Daemonosaurus Tawa Chindesaurus Eodromaeus Guaibasaurus Theropoda Buriolestes Eoraptor Pampadromaeus Panphagia Saturnalia Chromogisaurus Pantydraco Efraasia Plateosaurus Five variants of phylogenetic analyses published earlier were used along with the description of the new specimens in 2018.