It is found in the Western Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan in the north to Java, Papua and the Philippines in the south,[2] and east to Micronesia.

This species is found in reef flats and fronts in sheltered areas or where there is moderate exposure to the currents or waves.

This is a relatively small parrotfish generally found in pairs which excavates burrows.

[3] Chlorurus bowersi was first formally described as Callyodon bowersi in 1909 by the American ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943) and the type locality was given as Naha, Okinawa, Japan.

[4] The specific name honours the former United States Commissioner of Fisheries George Meade Bowers (1863-1925).