The genus Dohrniphora Dahl 1898 (Diptera: Phoridae) is an extremely diverse assemblage of species that exhibit fascinating larval lifestyles, including, scavenging, fungivory, kleptoparasitism, predation, and parasitism. Moreover, some species are known to exhibit interesting associations with social insects. Here we report on the first in-depth molecular phylogenetic study of the genus Dohrniphora based on 2,327 bp of DNA sequence data from portions of the nuclear CAD (rudimentary) and mitochondrial ND1, CO1, and 16S rDNA genes. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian analysis each recovered Dohrniphora as a monophyletic group. Within Dohrniphora, the New World species were paraphyletic with respect to the Old World clade. We also provide evidence that members of the termite-parasitizing genus Dicranopteron Schmitz 1931 are simply highly specialized members of Dohrniphora and revive the species status of Dohrniphora obscuriventris Borgmeier 1925. Finally, biogeography and hind femoral morphology are examined in a phylogenetic context.