Ladybird beetles are conspicuous elements of our fauna, comprising nearly 6,000 described species in 360 genera. The family represents one of the major radiations within Cucujoidea and exhibit considerable diversity in dietary preference, including predation, phytophagy, and mycophagy. To refine the classification of Coccinellidae and understand trophic shifts within the family, eight genes -12S, 16S, COI, COII , 18S, 28S, wingless and EF-1α - were sequenced from six outgroup taxa and fifty-three coccinellid species. Maximum parsimony analysis of the molecular data supported Coccinellidae as monophyletic. From the six currently recognized subfamilies only Coccinellinae and Epilachninae were recovered as monophyletic. Predation was supported as the ancestral dietary habit of coccinellids.