Philodromus Walckenaer 1826 and its seven component species groups in the Americas are defined and diagnosed. The 12 species of the aureolus group are keyed, diagnosed, and mapped. P. obscurus Blackwail, 1871 is placed in synonymy under P. cespitum (Walckenaer, 1802). P. lutulentus Gertsch, 1934 is raised to species status from synonymy under P. laticeps Keyserling, 1880, and P. eremus Buckle, 1973 is placed in synonymy under P. lutulentus. P. agreutes Schick, 1965 is placed in synonymy under P. californicus Keyserling, 1884, and P. decolor O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 under P. satullus Keyserling, 1880. The South American species P. fuliginosus Nicolet in Gay, 1849, P. junior Nicolet in Gay, 1849, and P. meridionalis Keyserling, 1891 are removed to the genus Petrichus, and P. setosus Petrunkevitch, 1929 is removed to the genus Thanatus, where it becomes a junior synonym of T. vulgaris Simon, 1870.