Tarchia in Mongolian means 'brain'. This name was applied because although the other ankylosaur from the Barun Goyot Formation, Saichania chulsanensis , has a skull twice the size, Tarchia has a larger braincase. However, the brain of Tarchia was still tiny in comparison to any mammal of the same size.

All that is known of this armoured dinosaur is a skull, so there is much more to be learned about it in the future.