It is known from incomplete fossil remains including parts of the skull, teeth, tail vertebrae, and a partial tibia.

The species name honors Coleman Burke, an amateur paleontologist who supported the expedition that collected the original fossils.

It was initially believed to be a coelurosaur due to the upturned anterior process of the postorbital as well as specialized teeth which are unserrated on the mesial (front) side and have an 8-shaped cross section, similar to those of dromaeosaurids and compsognathids.

[3] Orkoraptor was subsequently recovered in Megaraptora, a clade including several other enigmatic medium to large theropods, which has variously been considered to be a member of Allosauroidea and Tyrannosauroidea.

[8][6] The middle section of the Mata Amarilla Formation, whence Orkoraptor was collected, contains a tuff layer that has been dated to 96.2 ± 0.7 Ma, during the Cenomanian.