The species is closely related to marine fish such as the common ling and cusk, all of which belong to the family Lotidae (rocklings).

The name burbot comes from the Latin word barba, meaning beard, referring to its single chin whisker, or barbel.

With an appearance like a cross between a catfish and an eel, the burbot has a serpent-like body, but is easily distinguished by a single barbel on the chin.

Having such small fins relative to body size indicates a benthic lifestyle with low swimming endurance, unable to withstand strong currents.

Burbot have circumpolar distribution above 40° N. Populations are continuous from France across Europe and chiefly Russian Asia to the Bering Strait.

[10] Recent genetic analysis suggests the geographic pattern of burbot may indicate multiple species or subspecies, making this single taxon somewhat misleading.

[citation needed] Plans to reintroduce this freshwater member of the cod family back into British waters are under investigation.

[5] Burbot live in large, cold rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, primarily preferring freshwater habitats, but able to thrive in brackish environments for spawning.

[11] As benthic fish, they tolerate an array of substrate types, including mud, sand, rubble, boulder, silt, and gravel, for feeding.

[17] Spawning season typically occurs between December and March, often under ice at extremely low temperatures ranging between 1 and 4 °C.

[11] As broadcast spawners, burbot do not have an explicit nesting site, but rather release eggs and sperm into the water column to drift and settle.

At the larval stage, month-old burbot begin exogenous feeding, consuming food through the mouth and digesting in the intestines.

As adults, they are primarily piscivores, preying on lamprey, whitefish, grayling, young northern pike, suckers, stickleback, trout, and perch.

The IGFA recognizes the world-record burbot as caught on Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, Canada, by Sean Konrad on 27 March 2010.

Recent discoveries of burbot in the Green River at Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah have concerned wildlife biologists, who fear the burbot could decimate the sport-fish population in what is recognized as one of the world's top brown trout fisheries, because it often feeds on the eggs of other fish in the lake, such as sockeye salmon.

[23] The festival received national attention on 4 March 2011, when a correspondent from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno did a segment on the event.

[citation needed] Burbot populations are difficult to study, due to their deep habitats and reproduction under ice.