We investigate phylogenetic relationships among the foliage-gleaners of the genera Automolus, Hyloctistes, Hylocryptus, and Clibanornis (Furnariidae) by means of DNA sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear genes. The genus Automolus is not monophyletic because A. rubiginosus and A. rufipectus are more closely related to Hylocryptus and Clibanornis and because Hyloctistes is nested within the main Automolus clade. Hylocryptus erythrocephalus and H. rectirostris are not sister species; the former is part of the A. rubiginosus complex, whereas the latter is sister to Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides. Two species, A. infuscatus and A. rubiginosus, are not monophyletic, indicating the need for further taxonomic revision. On the basis of our phylogenetic analyses and of quantitative assessments of phenotypic variation, we propose a new classification for Automolus and allies, including the description of a new subgenus.