The thicklip gudgeon was first formally described as Leuciscus sciistius in 1901 by the American zoologist James Francis Abbott [fr] with its type locality given as the Pei-ho River, Tien-Tsin, China.

[3] In 1914 the Russian scientist Lev Berg described two species, Chilogobio czerskii and C. soldatovi, respectvely known as Czerski's thicklip gudgeon and Soldatov's thicklip gudgeon, [4] but these are now considered to be synonyms of Abbott's L.

[3] These fishes are found in lakes, main river streams and tributaries.

[2] The thicklip gudgeon becomes sexually mature at three years old when they have a length in excess of 6 cm (2.4 in).

The large, yellowish pink eggs are laid using a short ovipositor either between stones or in the mantle cavity of bivalves.