Indo-West Pacific: Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea to Fiji, north to southern Japan, south to Australia. This species has been frequently misidentified as Lutjanus sanguineus. There are unsubstantiated reports of this species from off East Africa.

Dorsal profile of head steeply sloped. Preorbital bone much broader than eye diameter. Preopercular notch and knob poorly developed. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Juveniles with a broad, oblique band of brown or black, from upper jaw to beginning of dorsal fin; a prominent black band runs across the caudal peduncle with a pearly-white border. Young with horizontal lines on sides.

Inhabit both coastal and offshore reefs. They tend to be associated with sponge and gorgonian-dominated habitats on the North West Shelf, and hard mud areas of the Arafura Sea. In Australia, they frequently form mixed shoals with L. erythropterus. Juveniles tend to inhabit shallow inshore waters and larger fish live in deeper waters.