It has large, colourful flowers and is common in a narrow range near the coast around Perth, often occurring with the similar but smaller Diuris corymbosa.

The species is similar to several other Diuris including D. corymbosa and D. amplissima but is distinguished from them by its size, flowering period and distribution.

[2][3][4][5] Diuris magnifica was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected in a reserve near Kwinana and the description was published in Australian Orchid Review.

[6][3] The specific epithet (magnifica) is a Latin word meaning "noble", "eminent" or "splendid"[7] referring to the large, colourful flowers of this orchid.

At the northern end of its distribution, this species hybridises with the as yet undescribed Arrowsmith pansy orchid (Diuris sp.