The group contains Dryolestidae and the possibly paraphyletic Paurodontidae, and some other unplaced genera, which were small insectivores, known from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Laurasia, primarily Europe and North America, with a single record from Asia.

[4][5] The basal non dryolestid dryolestidan Henkelotherium from the Late Jurassic of Portugal is known from a partial articulated skeleton, and is thought to have been arboreal, adapted to climbing and living in trees.

[9] The oldest named member of Dryolestidae is Anthracolestes from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) aged Itat Formation in western Siberia.

[12] The youngests fossils of Dryolestidans in the Northern Hemisphere are the dryolestids Crusafontia cuencana from Uña and the Camarillas Formation, Spain and Minutolestes submersus and Beckumia sinemeckelia from Balve, Germany, which all date to the Barremian-Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous,[13] though a fragmentary lower molar from the late Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation in Wyoming has been tentatively attributed to Dryolestidae.

[18] A phylogenetic analysis conducted by Rougier et al. (2012) indicated that meridiolestidans might not be members of Dryolestoidea but instead slightly more closely related to the placental mammals, marsupials and amphitheriids.

[19] An analysis conducted by Averianov, Martin and Lopatin (2013) did not recover meridiolestidans as members of Dryolestida as well, but it found them to be the sister group of spalacotheriid "symmetrodonts" instead.

[21] Cladogram after Lasseron and colleagues (2022), which found Donodontidae and Meridiolestida unrelated to Dryolestida:[2] Cronopio Necrolestes Leonardus Reigitherium Orretherium Peligrotherium Coloniatherium Mesungulatum Anthracolestes Tathiodon Euthlastus Paurodon Drescheratherium Henkelotherium Amblotherium Dryolestes Laolestes Krebsotherium Thereuodon Guimarotodus Crusafontia Hercynodon Stylodens Amazighodon Anoualestes Donodon minor Donodon prescriptoris Vincelestes Amphitherium Amphibetulimus Nanolestes Palaeoxonodon Arguimus Peramus Tribosphenida