The genus contains about 15 species that are widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions.

[3] Yang and colleagues revised the genus in a 2009 publication, describing several new species and several varieties.

They classified species in the genus into four sections based on the structure of the cap cuticle: Oudemansiella, Mucidula, Dactylosporina, and Radicatae.

[4] The genus name of Oudemansiella is in honour of Corneille Antoine Jean Abram Oudemans (1825–1906), who was a Dutch botanist and physician who specialized in fungal systematics.

[5] The genus was circumscribed by Carlos Luis Spegazzini in Anales Soc.