It is a member of the order Rodentia and family Cricetidae[14] with the genus Euryoryzomys comprising six valid species.

[23] Euryoryzomys russatus is a nocturnal, terrestrial rodent that moves primarily over leaf litter found on the forest floor.

[21] Euryoryzomys russatus was shown to have greater abundance in areas with woody debris, low leaf litter height, and high arthropod biomass during the warm-wet season and during the cool-dry season the greatest abundance was seen in areas with high leaf litter humidity.

[7][18] Females show reproductive activity throughout the year, and correlate with availability of food resources.

[7] The nests of E. russatus are cup-shaped, and built with fibers from bamboo and other grasses from the family Poaceae.

[24] Genetic analyses[17] have grouped different populations of E. russatus into three clades using mitochondrial and nuclear gene regions, however no subspecies have been identified.

[26] Through karyotyping of E. russatus individuals from Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (Santa Virginia, Brazil) it was found that they possess a chromosome number of 2n=80.

[8] However, studies have shown this species to be susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat degradation or destruction.

[10] Research into the gastrointestinal parasites of E. russatus found eight different endoparasites in island and continental populations.

[20] A single individual was found to possess antibodies from a systemic fungal infection with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

[30] A study on Rickettsia rickettsii, Brazilian Spotted-fever has shown E. russatus to be a host for the tick species Amblyomma ovale, which is a known vector for the zoonotic disease.