草海桐科有12属约404种(Flora of Australia, vol. 35)主要分布在澳大利亚各地，尤其是干旱和半干旱地带；其中草海桐属（ Scaevola）广泛分布在世界各地的热带地区。中国有2属3种，分布在南部沿海和岛屿上。

本科植物通常为草本，也有亚灌木或灌木，花两侧对称。

1981年的克朗奎斯特分类法将本科列入桔梗目，1998年根据基因亲缘关系分类的APG 分类法将其列入菊目。

Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus Scaevola, which is pantropical. Its species are found across most of Australia, being especially common in arid and semi-arid climates.