The slender tree or spindly shrub typically grows to a height of less than 6 m (20 ft).

[2] The species was first formally described by the botanist Joseph Maiden as Acacia bancroftii in 1918 as part of the work Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.

It was reclassified as Racosperma bancroftii in 1987 by Leslie Pedley then transferred back to the genus Acacia in 2006.

[2] The bulk of the population is situated from around Collinsville in the north down to around Crows Nest in south and out to the west as far as around Tambo.

It is found on stony hillsides as a part of open Eucalyptus woodland communities where it grows in shallow sandy soils or sometimes in deep alluvium.