[4] Species of Epiophlebia have a disjunct distribution, occurring in a narrow habitat of cold mountain streams at an altitude of 1,300–3,000 metres (4,300–9,800 ft) with temperatures of around 4–5 °C (39–41 °F) in winter to 16–17 °C (61–63 °F) in summer.

[5] A fourth species, E. diana, has been claimed from larval material from South China, but this is not universally accepted,[6] with some authors considering it a synonym of E.

The lineage of Epiophlebia is suggested to have split from that of living dragonflies around the end of the Triassic, approximately 205 million years ago.

[8] The genus was historically placed in the clade "Anisozygoptera" along with a variety of fossil odonatans, primarily from the Jurassic period, but this grouping was later shown to be non-monophyletic,[1] representing a paraphyletic group, with many "anisozygopterans" more closely related to dragonflies than to Epiophlebia.

[9] The extinct family Burmaphlebiidae from the mid Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago, may represent true close relatives of Epiophlebia.