Physiological similarities and molecular phylogenetic studies strongly support the creation of this family.

[1][2][3][4] Some taxonomic authorities place the entire family in the Macrosphenidae.

Hylias are small, insectivorous songbirds found in tropical Africa.

They frequent the understory of wet tropical forests.

The family Hyliidae was introduced in 1923 by the British ornithologist David Bannerman.