The genus name is derived from its place of discovery, Jehol in China, and a Latinized Greek pteron, "wing".

The type species is based on holotype IVPP V12705, a nearly complete specimen from the Daohugou beds of Ningcheng County in the Neimongol (Inner Mongolia) Autonomous Region of China.

[4] As an anurognathid, Jeholopterus shows the skull form typical for this group, being wider than it was long, at 28 millimeters (1.1 in), with a very broad mouth.

Jeholopterus was found to have been the sister taxon to an unnamed clade formed by both Anurognathus and Vesperopterylus in Wei and colleagues' study.

[7] Below is a cladogram representing their phylogenetic analysis: "Dimorphodon" weintraubi Sinomacrops bondei Batrachognathus volans Dendrorhynchoides curvidentatus Luopterus mutoudengensis Jeholopterus ningchengensis Anurognathus ammoni Vesperopterylus lamadongensis Anurognathids are normally considered insectivores.

[2] In the found footage film, The Dinosaur Project, a pack of Jeholopterus appears and stalks the camera crew.

However, unlike how they originally looked in real life, they mostly resemble large reptilian bats.

In Jurassic World Evolution 2, Jeholopterus is featured in the Feathered Species Pack and can be spawned in an aviary.