"[4] The species was first formally described in 1840 by botanist John Lindley in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.

[4][5] The specific epithet (aurea) is derived from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold".

[6] The golden conostylis occurs in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographical regions of Western Australia.

It grows on white or yellow sand or gravelly loam in winter-wet situations.

[7] Conostylis aurea is classified as not threatened by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.