It has long linear leaves with the edges turned under, yellowish green flowers in heads of about sixty and more or less spherical follicles.

Banksia subulata is a bushy, prostrate shrub that typically grows to a width of 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) but does not form a lignotuber.

[3][2] This species was first published as Dryandra subulata in 1964 by Charles Gardner in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected near the Hill River.

[6] Since 1998, Austin Mast has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data for the subtribe Banksiinae.

This banksia is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[2] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.