Platycrater arguta is a rare and endangered shrub species endemic to East Asia. Here, we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome structure and its taxonomic position within Hydrangeaceae to promote its conservation and restoration. The complete cp genome of P. arguta was 157,810 bp in length and contained a large single-copy region (LSC) of 86,823 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 18,735 bp, as well as a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,126 bp, each. 113 unique genes are predicted in this cp genome, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and 4 rRNAs. Maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis based on 79 shared cp CDS (coding DNA sequences) of 19 species reveals a close relationship between P. arguta and Schizophragma hydrangeoides.