Sixteen species, Amplimerlinius globigerus, A. macrurus, Bitylenchus parvus, Merlinius brevidens, M. nanus, Neodolichorhynchus phaseoli, Paramerlinius neohexagrammus, Pratylenchoides alkani, P. ritteri, P. utahensis, Scutylenchus paniculoides, S. rugosus, S. tartuensis, Scutylenchus sp. A, Trophurus impar and Tylenchorhynchus brassicae, from the families Teloty lenchidae and Merliniidae were collected from different locations in Iran and molecularly characterised using sequencing of the D2D3 expansion fragments of the 28S rRNA gene. Morphometries and light micrography for studied species are also provided as vouchers. The phylogenetic relationships of Telotylenchidae and Merliniidae with other representatives of the order Tylenchida, as obtained from Bayesian inference and Maximum likelihood analysis of partial 28S rRNA gene sequences, are presented and discussed. The results of phylogenetic analysis were in accordance with classifications in which Bitylenchus and Scutylenchus are considered as separate genera, but Tessellus and Telotylenchus were synonyms of Tylenchorhynchus. The Shimodaira-Hasegawa test of the 28S rRNA gene sequence alignment and trees rejected a large genus concept of Tylenchorhynchus and the constrained monophyly for Belonolaimidae revealed within this family two genera groups: i) Belonolaimus and Ibipora', and it) Carphodorus and Morulaimus. The present results also support the combination of Pratylenchoides and Merliniinae into a single family, the Merliniidae.