[4] The family is recognised as distinct in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV system (2016).

The family consists of two genera of aquatic plants, Brasenia and Cabomba, totalling six species.

[5] The Cabombaceae are all aquatic, living in still or slow-moving waters of temperate and tropical North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

[6] One such likely Cretaceous member is the genus Pluricarpellatia, found in rocks 115 million years old in what is now Brazil.

was first published in 1822 by Louis Claude Richard, but initial description did not satisfy the requirements for valid publications.