Allozyme variation at 38 presumptive protein loci was examined among seven Australian breeding and four migratory species of plovers, dotterels and lapwings (Charadriidae). Using the silver gull (Laridae), Australian pratincole (Glareolidae) and bush stone-curlew (Burhinidae) as outgroups, phenetic and cladistic analyses consistently identified four major clusters within the species examined. The first comprised the oriental plover, Charadrius veredus, the double-banded plover, C bicinctus, the red-capped plover, C. ruficapillus and the Mongolian plover, C. mongolus, together with the inland dotterel, Peltohyas australis. The second cluster contained the hooded plover, C. rubricollis and the black-fronted plover, C. melanops. The third contained the banded lapwing, Vanellus tricolor, and the masked lapwing, V. miles, together with the red-kneed dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus. The Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva, separated as a sister group to all of the other Charadriidae. These allozyme data are used to predict a phylogeny for the Australian Charadriidae and, assessed against morphological and behavioural characters, to propose a new taxonomic treatment.