Located at a similar distance from its star as Jupiter is from the Sun, it is the fifth and outermost known planet in its planetary system.

In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.

[4][5] Like the majority of known extrasolar planets found at the time, 55 Cancri d was detected by observing changes in its star's radial velocity.

In 2004, astrometric measurements with the Fine Guidance Sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope suggest that the planet's orbit is inclined by around 53° with respect to the plane of the sky.

Assuming a composition similar to that of Jupiter and that the planet's atmosphere is close to chemical equilibrium, it is predicted that 55 Cancri d is covered in a layer of water clouds: the planet's internal heat probably keeps it too warm to form the ammonia-based clouds that are typical of Jupiter.