Chaoyangopterus was found in rocks dating back to the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Dapingfang, Chaoyang.

Chaoyangopterus is based on holotype IVPP V13397, which includes the front of the skull, the lower jaws, the neck vertebrae, the shoulder and pelvic girdles, and the limbs.

David Unwin, in a popular work, included it without comment with the tapejarid family of azhdarchoid pterosaurs,[2] known for their large head crests.

A detailed phylogenetic analysis of Liaoning pterosaurs published by Lü Junchang and Ji Qiang in 2006 found it instead to be a basal azhdarchoid of no particular familial affiliation.

The one on the left is a topology by Felipe Pinheiro and colleagues in 2011, they recovered Chaoyangopterus within the family Tapejaridae, more specifically within a subfamily called Chaoyangopterinae, sister taxon to both Jidapterus and Shenzhoupterus.