Cryptocarya mackinnoniana is a tree that typically grows to a height of up to 25 m (82 ft), its stems sometimes buttressed.

The flowers are arranged in panicles in leaf axils and are longer than the leaves.

[2][3] Cryptocarya mackinnoniana was first formally described in 1866 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected on the Seaview Range near Rockingham Bay.

[4][5] This species of Cryptocarya grows in rainforest from sea level to an altitude of 1,100 m (3,600 ft) between the Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula to Ingham in north Queensland, and probably also in New Guinea.

[3] Cryptocarya mackinnoniana is listed as of "least concern" by the Queensland Government Department of Education and Science.