It is an erect shrub or small tree, with mostly pinnatifid leaves with two to eleven lobes, and whitish pink to fawn flowers.

Grevillea barklyana is an erect shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of up to 10 m (33 ft).

[2][3] Grevillea barklyana was first formally described in 1870 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller.

[4][5] Mueller had previously published the name in 1861 in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, but the name was a nomen nudum.

[10] It is found in gullies and on slopes, favouring a southerly aspect and clay-loam soils that are moist but well drained.