The many-banded krait mostly inhabits marshy areas throughout its geographical distribution, though it does occur in other habitat types.

[6] The common name "krait" is from Hindi (करैत karait), which is perhaps ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word (काल kāla), which means "black".

[2] American herpetologist Clifford H. Pope described Bungarus wanghaotingi in 1928 from a specimen from southwestern Yunnan Province collected in November, 1926 by a Walter Granger.

Naming it for zoological artist Mr. Wang Hao-t'ing, of Beijing, he distinguished it from B. multicinctus by its more numerous dorsal bands and from B. candidus by its higher ventral scale count.

Herpetologist Alan Leviton and colleagues suspect there are further undescribed taxa within the species complex.

The tail is short and pointed, that is also black in colour with alternating white cross bands, of which there are 7–11.

[13] The head is primarily black in colour, is broad and oval in shape, but flat and slightly distinct from the body.

[14][15] The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are a key element of identification to species level.

[15] This species is found throughout Taiwan (including the Archipelagos of Matsu and Kinmen), Hong Kong, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and northern Vietnam.

[14] It is also frequently found in shrublands, woodlands, agricultural fields, and mangroves, often adjacent to water, such as rivers, streams, rice paddies, and ditches.

[20] The venom of the many-banded krait consists of both pre- and postsynaptic neurotoxins (known as α-bungarotoxins and β-bungarotoxins, among others).

[22] Based on numerous LD50 (MLD) studies on mice dating back to 1943, the many-banded krait is among the most venomous land snakes in the world.

Symptoms may include bilateral ptosis, diplopia, discomfort in the chest, general ache, weak feeling in limbs, ataxia, glossolysis, loss of voice, dysphagia, tunnel vision, and difficulty breathing.

[25] During the Vietnam War, American soldiers referred to the many-banded krait as the "two-step snake," in the mistaken belief that its venom was lethal enough to kill within two steps.

[26] The many-banded krait gathered worldwide attention after a juvenile individual bit Joe Slowinski on 11 September 2001 in Myanmar.