Acropora echinata is a species of acroporid coral that was first described by James Dwight Dana in 1846.

Acropora echinata colonies are made of flat, bottlebrush-like branches, with thin neatly-arranged branchlets.

[2] It occurs in sheltered, tropical, shallow reefs at depths of 8 to 25 m (26 to 82 ft) in a marine environment of clear water, and can also be found on slopes of sand and the floors of lagoons.

[3] Acropora echinata is uncommon but occurs over a large range; Palau, central Pacific, Southeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the East China Sea, and Japan.

This species has a very low resistance to bleaching by the change in water temperature, with all specimens in Palau being affected, as of 1998.