It occurs widely from Nepal, eastern India to Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

[1] The Indochinese roller was formally described in 1840 by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield under the binomial name Coracias affinis based on specimens that had been collected in Assam by the naturalist John McClelland.

[6] The Indochinese roller is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

The neck and throat are purplish lilac with white shaft streaks.

[8] Rollers have a long and compressed bill with a curved upper edge and a hooked tip.