Although Buriolestes superficially resembles the predatory theropod dinosaurs, with jaws lined by finely serrated and slightly curved teeth well-adapted to a carnivorous diet, it in fact is an early member of the otherwise-herbivorous Sauropodomorpha, the group that gave rise to the giant sauropods.
In Buriolestes, the shaft of the pubis is straight, in contrast to later sauropodomorphs, where it has been modified into an expanded "apron", theropods, where it forms a "boot", and all ornithischians, where it is reversed and is parallel to the ischium.