The leaf blade has a lanceolate shape with a length of 5 to 13 centimetres (2.0 to 5.1 in) and a width of 0.8 to 2.5 cm (0.31 to 0.98 in) with a that tapers to the petiole.

[3][4][5] Eucalyptus moderata was first formally described in 1991 by the botanists Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson and Ken Hill in the journal Telopea.

[6] The specific epithet is taken from the Latin word moderatus meaning "moderate" in reference to the medium sized habit and leaves, buds and fruit of the plant compared to its closest relatives.

[4] It is found on flats, slopes and road verges in the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance region growing in sandy-loamy soils over granite or laterite.

[3] The species is associated with the western mallee subgroup which is characterised by several eucalypts including E. oleosa, E. eremophila, E. incrassata, E. foecunda, E. redunca and E. uncinata.