龙脑香科包括17属约580-680种，主要都是生长在热带雨林中的乔木，一般可以长到40-70米高，最高的可以达到85米，广泛分布在全世界的热带地区，是木材市场的重要产品，有些种类已经成为濒危植物品种，望天树（Parashorea chinensis Wang Hsie）是中国的一级保护植物，有的品种还可以提炼芳香油，有的品种是制造胶合板的主要原料。

龙脑香科一般被分为3个亚科：

The Dipterocarpaceae are a family of 17 genera and approximately 500 species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus Dipterocarpus, is derived from Greek (di = two, pteron = wing and karpos = fruit) and refers to the two-winged fruit. The largest genera are Shorea (196 species), Hopea (104 species), Dipterocarpus (70 species), and Vatica (65 species). Many are large forest emergent species, typically reaching heights of 40–70 m tall, some even over 80 m (in the genera Dryobalanops, Hopea and Shorea), with the tallest known living specimen (Shorea faguetiana) 88.3 m tall. The species of this family are of major importance in the timber trade. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia. The greatest diversity of Dipterocarpaceae occurs in Borneo. Some species are now endangered as a result of overcutting, extensive illegal logging and habitat conversion. They provide valuable woods, aromatic essential oils, balsam, resins and are a source for plywood.