 It is a basal archosauriform that lies outside Archosauria, the crown group originating with the last common ancestor of birds and crocodilians.When "Shansisuchus" was first described, Yang placed it in its own family, Shansisuchidae.In 1992 "Shansisuchus" was reassigned to the family Erythrosuchidae and proposed to be the closest relative of the genus "Vjushkovia" (now considered a synonym of"Garjainia").