Helochares is a genus of water scavenger beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, represented by 161 described species.

[1] As currently defined, Helochares contains small to medium-sized beetles (2–7 mm), which are yellowish to brown in coloration.

There is a lot of variation in the impression of the elytral punctation, and the aedeagal forms are also highly variable (see Figure 37 in Girón and Short 2021).

[1] Females carry their eggs in a cocoon anchored to the hind femora and held under the abdomen as in several other Hydrophilidae.

Several taxa that used to be recognized as typical Helochares are now assigned to newly created genera (e.g., Colossochares, Novochares) or re-assigned to exinsting genera (i.e., Peltochares), based on a phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data.