Prior to the advent of molecular data, the circumscription of the family Olacaceae varied widely between different authorities.

15 genera are recognized for Olacaceae by the Germplasm Resources Information Network.

The phylogenetic investigation published in 2008 recovered seven clades that were well-supported by molecular and morphological characters, but no formal taxonomic reorganization of the family was proposed.

For this reason, Olacaceae in the broad sense was adopted by the APG III-system.

[1] The formal reconfiguration of this family (as well as the rest of the order Santalales) was published by Nickrent and co-workers in 2010[3] and this concept is shown below.