The African barbets are birds in the family Lybiidae. They were usually united with their New World and Asian relatives in the Capitonidae for quite some time, but this has been confirmed to be limited to the main New World lineage.  There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa.

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The African terrestrial barbets, Trachyphoninae, range from the southern Sahara to South Africa. Members of one genus, Trachyphonus, they are the most open-country species of barbets. The subfamily Lybiinae contains the African arboreal barbets. There are 36 species of Lybiinae in 6 genera.