It is a member of a clade called Gobiguania, an exclusively Late Cretaceous group of iguanian lizards that was likely endemic to the Gobi Desert.

The type species, Saichangurvel davidsoni, was named by paleontologists Jack Conrad and Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History in 2007.

IGM 3/858 may have died in a collapsing sand dune, the rapid burial preserving its skeleton in pristine condition.

It differs from other gobiguanians such as Ctenomastax and Temujinia in that it has a large uncalcified region (a fontanelle) around an opening in its skull roof called the pineal foramen.

[1] Below is a cladogram from Daza et al. (2012) showing its phylogenetic relationships with other gobiguanians:[3] †Hoyalacerta sanzi †Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus †Pristiguana brasiliensis †Priscagamidae Acrodonta Hoplocercidae Polychrotidae †Polrussia mongoliensis †Igua minuta †Isodontosaurus gracilis †Anchaurosaurus gilmorei †Zapsosaurus sceliphros †Saichangurvel davidsoni †Temujinia ellisoni †Ctenomastax parva Corytophanidae Terraiguana Iguanidae Crotaphytidae Phrynosomatidae Opluridae †Uquiasaurus Liolaemidae Leiocephalus Tropiduridae