It has spreading stems, linear, pinnatipid leaves with triangular lobes on the sides, yellow flowers in heads of between forty and seventy, and elliptical follicles.

Banksia scelerophylla is a shrub with spreading, hairy stems, that typically grows to a height of 60 cm (24 in) and forms a lignotuber.

[2][3] This species was first formally described in 1855 by Carl Meissner who gave it the name Dryandra sclerophylla and published the description in Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany from specimens collected by James Drummond.

[7][8] Banksia sclerophylla grows in kwongan between the Alexander Morrison National Park, Mount Lesueur and Badgingarra.

[3] This banksia is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.