[11] The dipterocarp family is generally divided into two subfamilies: Anisoptera Cotylelobium Dipterocarpus Stemonoporus Upuna Vateria Vateriopsis Vatica Anthoshorea Doona Dryobalanops Hopea Neobalanocarpus Neohopea Parashorea Pentacme Richetia Rubroshorea Shorea Marquesia Monotes Pseudomonotes A recent genetic study found that the Asian dipterocarps share a common ancestor with the Sarcolaenaceae, a tree family endemic to Madagascar.

Although associated with Southeast Asia in contemporary times, recent studies using fossil pollen and molecular data suggest an African origin in the mid-cretaceous.

The oldest fossil of the family are from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) aged Intertrappean Beds of India, assignable to the extant genus Dipterocarpus.

[19] Subfamily Pakaraimoideae containing the sole genus Pakaraimaea, formerly placed here and native to the Guaianan highlands of South America, is now found to be more closely related the Cistaceae and is placed there in the APG IV (2016).

[20] Some 52-million-year-old amber found in the Gujarat province, India, containing a large amount of fossilized arthropods, was identified as sap from the family Dipterocarpaceae.

One study by Pang et al. examined the impacts of climate change and land cover on the distribution of this important tree family in the Philippines.

They found that precipitation and soil nitrogen were the largest determinants of distribution, and that suitable habitat for this species will decline by 21-28% relative to the present land area as a result of climate change.