This species inhabits a variety of inshore habitats, including coral reefs. Juveniles are sometimes found in mangrove swamps and estuaries (Randall 2005). Adults typically school on coastal reefs and in deep lagoons (Kuiter and Tonozuka 2001). This species is often found in large aggregations with Lutjanus kasmira and L. lutjanus (Lieske and Myers 1994). It consumes fishes, shrimps, crabs and other crustaceans and its maximum total length is 35 cm (Allen 1985). The reproductive lifespan is estimated at 15.5 years (Martinez-Andrade 2003). Spawning in the southern Arabian Gulf occurs from April to June, maximum observed age was 14.3 years and the mean age and size at sexual maturity was 1.6 years and 16.7 cm for males and 1.9 years and 18.7 cmfor females (Grandcourt et al. 2006). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 14.5 years, its estimated generation length is 8.25 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.