It is known from one fossil found at Jianchang, Liaoning Province, in rocks of the Jiufotang Formation, representing the type species Zhongjianornis yangi.

The holotype specimen is in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, and the species Z. yangi is named for the IVPP's founder, Yang Zhongjian.

[2] They found that Zhongjianornis was more primitive than Confuciusornis, and that it predated the split between euornithean and enantiornithean birds.

The authors also reported that Zhongjianornis shared features with very basal birds like Jeholornis, Sapeornis and Confuciusornis, including a highly expanded deltopectoral crest, and suggest that this was an early flight architecture that was replaced by an enlarged, keeled breastbone in more advanced birds.

A phylogenetic analysis showed that a very primitive position in the bird family tree for Z. yangi is unlikely given current evidence.