It is endemic to Brazil and only known from its type locality, "Morro dos Padres, Pico da Igreja", in the Serra do Mar in Guaratuba, Paraná state.

[1][2][3] The specific name pombali honors José Perez Pombal, Jr. [fr], a Brazilian herpetologist who has worked with the genus Brachycephalus.

[2][4] As all brachycephalids, Brachycephalus pombali are small: adult males measure 12.6–13.9 mm (0.50–0.55 in) and females 14.6–15.3 mm (0.57–0.60 in) in snout–vent length; this miniaturization is associated with loss of phalanges in hands and feet.

The skin on top of the head and central part of the back body is smooth and without dermal co-ossification, whereas the skin on dorso-lateral surfaces of body, flanks, and dorsal surface of thighs is granular.

[2] Brachycephalus pombali inhabit the leaf litter in the Atlantic Rainforest.