Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that the genus is nested within an evolutionary branch consisting of Asian barbets that were formerly placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1841.

Since Psilopogon was proposed by Salomon Müller already in 1835, this name takes priority.

[4][5] In the 19th and 20th centuries, about 19 generic names were proposed for Asian barbet species in collections of natural history museums, including Megalaima by George Robert Gray in 1849 and Mezobucco by George Ernest Shelley in 1889.

Barbets formerly placed in Megalaima were therefore reclassified under the genus Psilopogon, which now contains the following 33 species:[7] As of February 2023, the list of birds maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) as well as the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by members of Cornell University both treat Psilopogon cyanotis as a subspecies of Psilopogon duvaucellii.

[8][9] The taxon Psilopogon cyanotis was not included in the 2013 molecular phylogenetic study by Robert Jan den Tex and Jennifer Leonard.