The orthopteroid insect order Mantodea (praying mantids) is a relatively small group of insects including 2,300 described species distributed throughout the world. Many phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed by mantid systematists, but none are based on a formal quantitative analysis. A recent study by Svenson and Whiting (2004) established a preliminary phylogeny for Mantodea based on molecular data (55 taxa across 5 genes). In continuation of this project, a more extensive phylogenetic analysis is presented, including increased taxon sampling (~150 taxa) and the inclusion of additional molecular markers. The monophyly of mantid families and subfamilies is tested using parsimony and Bayesian analysis. Morphological character evolution is examined and several character systems thought to be informative/uninformative for phylogenetic analysis are discussed. Some potential trends in mantid evolution are investigated and left open to debate.