Basal neoceratopsians are a relatively diverse group of small- to medium-sized herbivorous dinosaurs from the Early to Late Cretaceous of Asia and North America. Although known for over a century, this group has only relatively recently received intense independent study, tied to the rapid increase in known diversity since 1997. Auroraceratops rugosus is one of these recently discovered species and is one of the best-known basal neoceratopsians, being represented by over 80 specimens, and is also the most completely represented neoceratopsian from the Early Cretaceous. A phylogenetic analysis focusing on non-ceratopsid ceratopsians examines the phylogenetic context of Auroraceratops. The analysis is based on a new matrix of 41 taxa and 257 characters. The results recover an Auroraceratops-Aquilops-ZPAL MgD-I/156 clade within basal Neoceratopsia that is sister to a clade composed of Asiaceratops, Yamaceratops, Mosaiceratops, and the larger clades Leptoceratopsidae and Coronosauria. This phylogeny recovers a monophyletic Coronosauria, Leptoceratopsidae, and Protoceratopsidae. Helioceratops is recovered as sister to the rest of Leptoceratopsidae, Ischioceratops is recovered nested within Leptoceratopsidae, and the enigmatic genus Mosaiceratops is recovered as a basal neoceratopsian, sister to Yamaceratops. Yinlong, and Hualianceratops are recovered in an expanded Chaoyangsauridae, and the genus Psittacosaurus is recovered as the earliest diverging lineage in Ceratopsia. Ajkaceratops, the only European ceratopsian, is robustly recovered as sister to the rest of Ceratopsoidea.