[1] Pocock described the large-spotted civet as varying in colour from silvery-grey to golden-buff or tawny with a black to brown pattern and large or comparatively small spots, which are separated or sometimes fusing into blotches or into vertical stripes behind the shoulders.

White bands on the tail are mostly restricted to the sides and lower surface but very seldom form complete rings.

[2] The large-spotted civet occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and southern China.

[1] It inhabits evergreen, deciduous, and dry dipterocarp forests below elevations of 300 m (980 ft).

The population is thought to have been steadily declining throughout the range countries, and in China and Vietnam in particular may have been reduced significantly.