[1] Colonies of Goniastrea favulus usually form greenish or brownish massive boulder-like structures.

The walls of the corallites are thin, the septa bear large paliform lobes and there is a small central collumella.

Spawning is a synchronised event with all the colonies in a locality releasing their gametes into the sea at much the same time.

The sperm is released in a jet while the eggs are negatively buoyant and surrounded by mucus and adhere to the colony.

This is in contrast to the closely related Goniastrea aspera, in which species both eggs and sperm are released in discrete buoyant packets which float to the surface.