This species was first described in 1846 as Favia pallida by the American zoologist James Dwight Dana; it was later transferred to the genus Dipsastraea,[2] but some authorities continue to use the original name.

The septa (radiating vertical plates forming part of the corallite wall) are widely spaced and often irregular.

Its range extends from the East African coast, Madagascar, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, through the Indian Ocean to southeastern Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and the South China Sea, western, northern and eastern Australia and various archipelagoes in the western Pacific Ocean.

[1] Dipsastraea pallida is one of several species of corals in the Indo-Pacific region that are bioeroded by the sponge Cliona orientalis, which tunnels into its skeletal structure.

However, this is a common species with a wide range and presumed large total population, and the largest threats it faces come from habitat loss, climate change and ocean acidification.