The Marattiaceae diverged from other ferns very early in their evolutionary history and are quite different from many plants familiar to people in temperate zones.

[3][4] The large fronds characteristic of the group are most readily found in the genus Angiopteris, native to Australasia, Madagascar and Oceania.

The king fern, Ptisana salicina, from New Zealand and the South Pacific and known in Māori as "para" now has been placed in this genus.

Marattiidae is one of four subclasses of class Polypodiopsida (ferns), to which it is related as shown in this cladogram, being a sister group to Polypodiidae.

[1] Equisetidae Ophioglossidae Marattiidae Polypodiidae In the molecular phylogenetic classification of Smith et al. in 2006, the Marattiales formed the single member of the class Marattiopsida.

[2] The class was lowered in rank to the subclass Marattiidae in the 2009 classification of Mark W. Chase and James L. Reveal,[10] and subsequent systems such as Christenhusz et al.

[1] This fern group has a long fossil history with many extinct taxa (Psaronius, Asterotheca, Scolecopteris, Eoangiopteris, Qasimia, Marantoidea, Danaeites, Marattiopsis, Ptychocarpus, etc.).

Danaea †Marattiopsis Eupodium Ptisana Christensenia Marattia Angiopteris Danaea Eupodium Ptisana Marattia Christensenia Angiopteris Six genera are accepted in the PPG I classification:[1] Several other genera have been named in the Marattiaceae, namely: Archangiopteris, Clementea, Macroglossum, Protangiopteris, Protomarattia and Psilodochea.