The podocarps include 100 species mostly of the tropics and the temperate southern hemisphere but with few north to Japan and Mexico. There are fossil records for North America. The seeds are often surrounded by a fleshy aril-like structure.

Podocarpus ustus may be the only known parasitic gymnosperm (thought to attack other podocarps), but its parasitic nature is currently in dipute. A macrofossil of Podocarpus from the late Pleistocene has recently been discovered in the Amazon basin, creating speculation that the vegetation there may have been more similar to vegetation now found at greater altitude 700 meters.