This family probably originated in Africa, which has the majority of species, but there are representatives of the family across tropical Asia into Australasia, and one species, the zitting cisticola, even breeds in Europe.
Familien opstod sandsynligvis i Afrika, som rummer de fleste af arterne, men der findes repræsentanter for familien fra tropisk Asien til Australasien, og en enkelt art, cistussanger (Cisticola juncidis), yngler også i Europa.