[2] Their fossil remains are known to date from South Africa (Beaufort Group of the Karoo Basin), China, India and European Russia, from the Early to Middle Triassic.

[2] This forms a characteristic "step" that makes erythrosuchids easily distinguishable from all other early archosauriformes, which have smooth jaw margins that are either straight or gradually curved.

[3] Erythrosuchids are notable for being the first archosauriforms to have a triradiate pelvic girdle with three projecting areas formed from three bones: an ilium and an elongated pubis and ischium.

The family was defined by Martin Ezcurra and colleagues in 2010 during the description of Koilamasuchus as "all taxa more closely related to Erythrosuchus africanus than to Proterosuchus fergusi or Passer domesticus (the house sparrow).

The placement of fragmentary taxa that had to be removed to increase tree resolution is indicated by dashed lines (in the most derived position that they can be confidently assigned to).

Ezcurra (2016) recovered a monophyletic Erythrosuchidae, although the relationship of the Long Reef form (SAM P41754) and Uralosaurus remain unknown within the family.