[5] The bluespine unicornfish was first formally described as Chaetodon unicornis by the Swedish-speaking Finnish explorer, orientalist, naturalist, and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus Peter Forsskål with its type locality given as Jeddah.

[6] Naso is the only genus in the monogeneric subfamily Nasinae, proposed by Henry Weed Fowler and Barton Appler Bean in 1929[7] within the family Acanthuridae.

[8] The bluespine unicornfish has a blueish-gray body with two blue spines on each side at the base of the tail and a short rostrum or bony horn on the forehead.

[12][13] Because it is one of a small number of species that consumes fleshy macroalgae (seaweed), it is of great importance to coral reef ecosystems.

[14] This alga has become well established in reefs throughout the Hawaiian island of Oahu and is of concern because of its tendency to form dense, overgrown mats on and around corals that prevent nutrient acquisition.

The bluespine unicornfish feeds on G. salicornia which both helps reduce the size of the alga on reefs but also contributes to its spread as the fragments found in the fishes' feces are viable and can grow into new algal mats.

[5] As of March 2024[update]annual catch limit for the commercial kala fishery is 15,000 pounds, with the count beginning on August 1 of each year.

[5] The bluespine unicornfish is frequently found on postage stamps, as company logos, school mascots, and as a motif in indigenous artwork.