It forms loose flocks in sparsely vegetated gibber plain and claypans in the day where it loafs in the shade and eats shoots of shrubs.

The most detailed observations of the species were made by the South African arid-zone ornithology specialist Gordon Maclean in the 1970s.

A broad black Y-shaped band extends from the hindneck down the sides of the neck across the breast to the centre of the belly.

[4] Immature birds lack the distinct black markings on the head, neck and breast of the adults.

[4] It calls infrequently, most often a short quiet quick or guttural kroot or krrr when taking flight.

[4][8][9] The precocial young have short dense downy feathers, pinkish-buff or cream on the upperparts with a heavy pattern of dark brown blotches.

[7] The inland dotterel was first documented in 1840 after Captain Charles Sturt collected an immature bird on one of his expeditions to the Australian interior and sent it to John Gould.

The initial scientific name Eudromias australis supposed a generic relationship to the Eurasian dotterel (E. morinellus) that does not exist.

Some modern authors place it in Charadrius, most closely related to the oriental plover (C. veredus) on mtDNA and protein allozyme evidence.

The Australian ornithologist Gregory M. Mathews proposed the subspecies C. australis whitlocki for birds in western Australia based on supposedly darker plumage, but the validity of this has been disputed.

[6] Inland dotterels prefer sparsely vegetated habitat with low cover of 200–400 mm (7.9–15.7 in) saltbush, bluebush or samphire to provide food and shelter.

[4] At dusk the flock disperses and night sees most activity with individual birds hunting a variety of insect prey.

[17][18] At night the diet is insectivorous and spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, ants and earwigs have been recorded in gut contents.