It eats small vertebrates, insects, aquatic animals, and eggs stolen from birds' nests.

The mating season of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is three months, ending with the birth of one young.

[1] The Malagasy name fanaloka is related to the Malay word pelanduk "mousedeer" (via metathesis) likely due to their similar sizes and silhouette.

[9][16] The mating season of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is around three months, ending with the birth of one young.

[1][17][18] The Malagasy civet is found in lowland and rainforest areas of Eastern and Northern areas of Madagascar, and can also be found in humid and isolated forests in Amber Mountain National Park, and farther north in the less-humid forests of Ankarana Reserve.

[1][11] The Malagasy civet is listed as Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a decreasing population.

Though threatened by deforestation, hunting, charcoal production, logging, and competition from introduced species such as dogs, cats, and small Indian civets, it is locally common.