Within the Animal Kingdom, saber-toothed tigers belonged to the following classifications:
* Phylum: Chordata
* Class: Mammalia
* Order: Carnivora
* Family: Felidae (cat family)
While they are often called "saber-toothed tigers," they are actually not closely related to modern tigers. They were part of a distinct group of extinct saber-toothed cats, known as Machairodontinae.