The first formal description of the chestnut-vented warbler was by the French naturalist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817. He introduced the binomial name Sylvia subcœrulea using the œ ligature.
The specific epithet would normally be spelled subcaerulea or subcærulea and comes from the Latin sub meaning somewhat or beneath and caeruleus for blue. In modern Latin subcaeruleus is used to indicate pale blue. Most authorities use the standard spelling subcaerulea but some use the original spelling subcoerulea.
The chestnut-vented warbler is 14–15 cm long and weighs around 16 g. Its upperparts are grey-brown, and the tail is black with a broad white band at its tip. This warbler has a white eye ring. The throat is grey with heavy dark streaking, the breast and belly are grey, and the vent area is bright chestnut. The legs are black and the eyes are grey. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has an unstreaked throat. The call is a loud fluted cheerup-chee-chee.
Layard’s warbler, Curruca layardi, is the only similar species, but is paler, has more white in the tail, and lacks the chestnut vent.
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