In 2008, a team from the Shanxi Museum of Geological and Mineral Science and Technology in the Kangdailiang quarry in Shanxi discovered the jaw of a euornithopod.
In 2015, the species Datonglong tianzhenensis was named and described by Xu Shichao, You Hailu, Wang Jiawei, Wang Suozhu, Yi Jian, and Jia Lei.