It is a reef-associated fish, native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea to Hawaii and the Austral Islands.

This species is generally associated with stable populations and faces no major threats of extinction.

[1] It is a favorite of photographers, artists, and aquarists because of its unique, brilliant pattern of coloration.

There is a blackish band above the pectoral fins, the top of which is at the level of the upper orbit.

[1] The adults are found in areas where there is a rich growth of corals on clear lagoon, channel, or seaward reefs.

[4] The emperor angelfish was first formally described in 1787 as Chaetodon imperator by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) with the type locality given as Japan.