It was first named a subspecies of P. naumanni (which is principally known from material found in Japan) by J. Liu in 1977 based on a partial skeleton from Huaiyuan, Anhui,[1] and was later elevated to species rank by G. Qi in 1999, who also included other Chinese Palaeoloxodon remains within species, including the abundant remains found in the Penghu Channel between the Penghu archipelago and Taiwan.

[4] A mostly complete adult skull (IVPP V4443) from Late Pleistocene Nihewan basin in Hebei may be referrable to this species.

[3] The body size is very large, comparable to Indian Palaeoloxodon namadicus and the European straight-tusked elephant (P. antiquus), and much larger than Japanese specimens of Palaeoloxodon naumanni,[3] with specimens from the Penghu Channel and Taiwan estimated to reach shoulder heights of over 4 metres (13 ft) and body masses over 13 tonnes (29,000 lb).

[6] The oldest remains of Palaeoloxodon in North China date to the early Middle Pleistocene, around 700,000 years ago.

[6] The close relationship between the mitochondrial genomes of a Chinese Palaeoloxodon and a European P. antiquus individual suggests that there may have been gene flow between the two populations following their initial divergence.