Halieutaea indica was first formally described in 1910 by the British naturalists Nelson Annandale and James Travis Jenkins with the type locality given as the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa in India.

[4] The family Ogcocephalidae is classified in the monotypic suborder Ogcocephaloidei within the order Lophiiformes, the anglerfishes in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

[6] Halieutaea indica has a disc shaped body which is circular and which is almost equally wide as it is long.

The lower body is naked or has many widely spaced granular spinules.

The overall colour is pinkish to brownish yellow with a reddish ventral side.