The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[4] The specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek tridaktulos meaning "three-toed" (tri- is "three-" and daktulos is toe).

[5] The species is now placed in the genus Picoides that was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799.

[10] The voice call of the Eurasian three-toed woodpecker is a kik or chik The breeding habitat is coniferous forests across the Palearctic from Norway to Korea.

These birds often move into areas with large numbers of insect-infested trees, often following a forest fire or flooding.