The genus Diplothele O. Pickard-Cambridge 1890 of the brush-footed spider family Barychelidae is represented in India by a single species, D. walshi O. Pickard-Cambridge 1890. In this paper, we describe two new species: Diplothele gravelyi from Angul and Diplothele tenebrosus from Ganjam, Orissa. We establish a neotype and provide additional characters for D. walshi, the types of which are lost. The neotype was collected from one of the previously described localities, Barkuda Island, Orissa. Spiders of this genus are known to build double-door trapdoor burrows, but the new species, D. tenebrosus, constructs a single entrance burrow with a trapdoor. Notes on natural history are provided for all species.