The first formal description of the Vietnamese greenfinch was by the American ornithologist Jean Théodore Delacour in 1926 under the binomial name Hypacanthis monguilloti.

[6] The word Chloris is from the Ancient Greek khlōris for the European greenfinch; the specific epithet was chosen to honour Maurice Antoine François Monguillot, the General Secretary of French Indochina.

It has a large conical bill, a black head and a narrow bright yellow collar.

[8] The Vietnamese greenfinch is native to the Đà Lạt Plateau in southern Vietnam.

It feeds on the seeds of pine trees, and has been observed flycatching recently-hatched termites.