[3] The sharp-billed treehunter is assigned two subspecies, the nominate H. c. contaminatus (Berlepsch, 1885) and (as of 2023) H. c. camargoi (Cardoso da Silva & Stotz, 1992).

[5] In recognition of that possibility, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World gives H. c. camargoi the trinomial "Heliobletus contaminatus [new name]".

Genetic data refute this treatment and find that it belongs in Heliobletus and is sister to genus Philydor.

It has a short, pointed, and slightly downturned bill, and male and female plumages are alike.

Adults of the nominate subspecies have a wide golden-buff supercilium, a blackish brown band behind the eye, dark brownish and ochraceous lores, and dull buff ear coverts.

[5][8] The nominate subspecies of the sharp-billed treehunter is found in southeastern Brazil from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states.

It climbs and hangs acrobatically, gleaning, pulling, and pecking for its prey on branches, foliage, and epiphytes.

The sharp-billed treehunter's song is "a short, harsh, metallic slow trill on one pitch, sometimes interspersed with squeaky notes or tinkling overtones".