Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

The grey-striped spurfowl was described in 1890 by the Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant from a single specimen and given the binomial name Francolinus griseostriatus.

[3] The specific epithet griseostriatus combines the Medieval Latin griseus meaning "grey" with the Latin striatus meaning "striated".

[4] The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832.

[5][6] The grey-striped spurfowl is considered as monototypic: no subspecies are recognised.