[3] Most of the species in the genus occur in Asia, from India to Japan, and Java, with five found in Africa, and two in Europe.

[1] The name is derived from Ancient Greek μακρός ("makro-"), meaning "big", and θηλή ("thele"), referring to the spinnerets.

[citation needed] Spiders of this genus are fairly large, with females of some Chinese species ranging from 1 to 3 centimetres (0.4 to 1.2 in) in body length.

[1] A molecular phylogenetic study in 2018 suggested that Macrothele was a distinct, early diverging lineage within the Mygalomorphae.

[6] The following cladogram shows the possible relationship of Macrothele to related taxa:[5] Dipluridae Hexathelidae Porrhothelidae Macrothele (Macrothelidae) Calisoga (Nemesiidae) Hebestatis (Halonoproctidae) Atracidae Actinopodidae As of December 2022[update], it contains 42 species and one subspecies from Africa, Asia and Europe:[1]