It is the widest waterfall in the world at 10,783 metres (35,376 feet or 6.7 miles) in width from one edge of its multiple channels to the other.

[1][2] The Khone Falls are the largest in southeast Asia, and are the main reason that the Mekong is not fully navigable into China.

The highest falls reach to 21 metres (69 ft); the succession of rapids stretch 9.7 km (6.0 mi) of the river's length.

Hemimyzon khonensis, a species of hillstream loach, is known from a single specimen collected in the Mekong at the Khone Falls.

[3] The falls are home to the plabuck, an endangered species of catfish said to be the largest freshwater fish in the world.