It is native to Australia but is also naturalised in Malaysia, Africa, India and South America.

The silver-grey to grey-green phyllodes have a broadly elliptic to ovate shape and a length of 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2.0 in) and a width of 10 to 25 mm (0.4 to 1.0 in).

A. podalyriifolia blooms throughout the year producing simple inflorescences in groups of 8 to 22 along an axillary raceme with an axis length of 2 to 11 cm (0.8 to 4.3 in).

[4] The species was first formally described by the botanist George Don in 1832 as part of the work General History of Dichlamydeous Plants.

It was reclassified as Racosperma podalyriifolium by Leslie Pedley in 1987 then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2014.