Von Schrenck's bittern was formally described in 1873 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe under the binomial name Ardetta eurhythma.

[2][3] Swinhoe realised that the species had been illustrated in a book by the Russian zoologist Leopold von Schrenck published in 1858.

Von Schrenck had encountered the bird in the Amur river basin of eastern Russia and had believed it was a cinnamon bittern.

To create monophyletic genera, Ixobrychus was merged into the genus Botaurus that had been introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens.

[10] Widespread throughout its large range, Von Schrenck's bittern has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.