The Caprini diverged from the other Antilopinae tribes in the early Miocene, appearing in the Eurasian fossil record 18-15 million years ago. The Caprini were excluded from the Eurasian lowland habitats by the dominant Cervidae (deer), but were able to fill a specific niche in alpine habitats. The prevalence of mountains throughout Europe and Asia provided the perfect setting for the rapid evolution of the Caprini during the late Miocene. The lack of alpine habitat in Africa (and the abundance of mountains in Eurasia) explains why this is the only bovid subfamily to be significantly more diverse in Eurasia than Africa.

Three tribes are currently recognized:

1. Pantholopina - chiru
2. Ovibovina - musk ox, serows, and gorals
3. Caprina - sheep and goats

Despite being nested deeply within the subfamily Antilopinae, the Caprini are generally not considered "antelope" (with the exception of the chiru or Tibetan antelope, Pantholops hodgsonii); in an attempt to correct this, some authors chose to describe the members of this tribe as "goat antelope".

The position of the chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) has only recently been resolved. Formerly, this species was thought to ally closely with the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) in the tribe Saigini, forming a putative link between gazelles (Antilopini) and goats (Caprini). However, molecular evidence has determined that Saiga is distinctly antelopine, while Pantholops is distinctly goat-like. Some authors consider the chiru to be distinct enough to warrant placing it in a separate tribe, the Pantholopini.

Generally both sexes of the Caprini bear horns (except in Pantholops and in some domestic sheep, where they are only found in males). There is extreme sexual dimorphism in the Caprini - this is especially prevalent in the size and shape of the horns. The other tribes show very few differences between the sexes with regard to size, coloration, and horn size.