The pale-browed treehunter (Cichlocolaptes leucophrus) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae.

The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee, and the Clements taxonomy treat it as a species with two subspecies, the nominate C. l. leucophrus (Jardine & Selby, 1830) and C. l. holti (Pinto, 1941).

BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats the two taxa as separate species, the large and small pale-browed treehunters respectively.

Compared to the nominate subspecies, C. l. holti is smaller, has a wider and paler supercilium, blacker feathers in the crown, slightly more olive upperparts, a darker rufous tail, and a plain buff throat.

The nominate subspecies occurs from southern Bahia south to Rio de Janeiro state.

C. l. holti occurs from São Paulo state south to northeastern Rio Grande do Sul.

It forages along larger limbs and branches, probing and gleaning for prey, with a strong preference for seeking it in bromeliads and other epiphytes.

[8] The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has separately assessed the "large" and "small" pale-browed treehunters.