In order to examine the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the subfamily Notodontinae (Noctuoidea: Notodontidae), a molecular systematic study was conducted, mainly based on mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs) generated by high-throughput sequencing, including 57 species belonging to 37 genera, together with 64 other species within Notodontidae and 14 outgroups, with the dataset comprising 10,980 bp of nucleotide sequences. An individual dataset of orthologous genes (OGs) comprising 589 loci (919,493 bp in total) was utilized as a supporting analysis for the result from the mitochodrial dataset. In this study, the monophyly of Notodontinae was well supported, with the internal clades consisting of three tribes—Stauropini, Notodontini, and Fentoniini—and supporting evidence found in the male genital characteristics. Furthermore, Neodrymoniaini Kobayashi, 2016 syn. nov. was synonymized with Fentoniini Matsumura, 1929. Divergence time estimation for Notodontinae, conducted using phylogenetic results across five fossil calibration points, suggested that Notodontinae originated around 22.71 Ma, and the most recent common ancestor of Stauropini and Fentoniini diverged between 24.44 and 20.23 Ma, followed by the emergence of Stauropini between 23.83 and 19.53 Ma. Then, Notodontini diverged around 23.60–19.10 Ma, with the youngest tribe, Fentoniini, dividing in 21.70–16.63 Ma. In summary, this study provided a robust foundation for classification within the terminal clades of Notodontidae and laid the groundwork for further research on phylogenetic relationships across the whole family.