Abstract: The Asilidae, or robber flies, belong to the superfamily Asiloidea, suborder Brachycera, and order Diptera of the class Insecta. They exhibit a wide variety of body colors and shapes, have large compound eyes, and possess well-developed, cone-shaped mouthparts. Typically, they have claw pads and are capable of fast flight. Their life cycle is holometabolous, passing through egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. Both larvae and adults of robber flies prey on other insects and even spiders. Adult robber flies have a diverse diet preying on wasps, butterflies, locusts, and many other groups of insects. They are particularly adept at preying on Hymenoptera. When capturing preys, they inject neurotoxins and proteolytic enzymes in their saliva to paralyze and break down the muscle tissue of their preys. The larvae live in soil and decaying plant matter, usually feeding on the eggs and larvae of other insects. They play an important role in maintaining the balance of insect populations in ecosystems. The Asilidae are distributed worldwide comprising 7 552 species from 560 genera under 14 known subfamilies. Taxonomic research began with Linnaeus’ establishment of the genus Asilus in 1758. Over the past 265 years, research methods have evolved from morphology to molecular biology, greatly increasing the number of known species (from an initial 11 recorded in 1758) and refining the classification system ［from 4 (in 1981) to 14 (in 2004) subfamilies］. In China, 236 species of 62 genera within 10 subfamilies have been recorded so far, and the number of species is far less than 10% of the known species worldwide. The main work involves species surveys and descriptions of new species. The monophyly of Asilidae at the family level is generally undisputed, but the monophyly of each subfamily within the family is still under discussion. The monophyly of the subfamilies Asilinae, Laphriinae, Leptogastrinae and Ommatiinae, is well supported. However, the monophyly of Dasypogoninae, Tillobromatinae, Stenopogoninae, Willistonininae, Dioctriinae, Trigonomiminae, Stichopogoninae and Brachyrhopalinae needs further research. While significant achievements have been made in global taxonomic research on Asilidae, there are still some problems: lack of highquality systematic taxonomic revisions, unclear phylogenetic relationships between major groups, and single research methods. In future, use of mitochondrial DNA/transcriptome/lowcoverage molecular techniques combined with morphology to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships should be strengthened. The vast territory and diverse topography in China support a rich insect diversity. However, the research on robber flies started late in China. The basic resources and distribution patterns are unclear. There is an urgent need for systematic organization and taxonomic revision of Chinese robber flies. Molecular techniques can be used to explore phylogenetic relationships at the genus level or above. ArcGIS can be used to explore the geographical distribution patterns of robber flies in China. Further research on their role and value in ecosystems can improve our understanding of this group and provide reference materials for practical applications.

Key words: Diptera, Asilidae, robber fly, taxonomy, phylogeny, China