It was previously thought to be restricted to central Iran, but recent research shows that it is more widespread and that Alburnus amirkabiri and Petroleuciscus esfahani are probably synonyms of Alburnus doriae.

[3] Alburnus doriae is a fish with a slender body that shows marked lateral compression with as lightly convex or straight dorsal profile.

It has a pointed snout and the lower jaw normally projects beyond the upper jaw, with the snout being at least as long as the diameter of the eye and equal to the interorbital distance, and the interorbital area is concave.

The back is dark olive-brown through to grey in colour with silver on the flanks, belly, and lower part of the head; a dark grey strip runs from the back of the eye to the caudal peduncle with darker brown spots below and above the lateral line.

[3] Alburnus doriae is endemic to Iran, where it is found in two endorheic drainage basins, that of the Zayandeh River close to the city of Ishfahan and in the Qom and Gareh-Chai Rivers, which are tributaries of the salt lake, Namak, It has also been recorded from the stream known as Shahrekord, which flows into the Karun River, the lowermost tributary of the Tigris.