The Holothuriidae is one of the three established families within the large holothuroid order Aspidochirotida. The approximately 185 recognized species of this family are commonly classified in five nominal genera: Actinopyga, Bohadschia, Holothuria, Pearsonothuria and Labidodemas. Maximum parsimony analyses on morphological characters, as inferred from type and nontype material of the five genera, revealed that Labidodemas comprises highly derived species that arose from within the genus Holothuria. The paraphyletic status of the latter, large (148 assumed valid species) and morphologically diverse genus has recently been recognized and is here confirmed and discussed. Nevertheless, we adopt a Darwinian or eclectic classification for Labidodemas, which we retain at generic level within the Holothuriidae. We compare our phylogeny of the Holothuriidae with previous classifications of its genera and subgenera, and make suggestions concerning possible systematic changes. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London.