The ecoregion covers an area of 41,700 square kilometers (16,100 sq mi), and despite its name, comprise not only the state of Meghalaya, but also parts of southern Assam, and a tiny bit of Nagaland around Dimapur and adjacent Bangladesh.

The region is one of the wettest areas in the world, with some places, notably Mawsynram and Cherrapunji in the south of Meghalaya, receiving up to eleven meters of rain in a year.

The elevated and damp forest ecoregion is a center of diversity for the tree genera Magnolia and Michelia, the families Elaeocarpaceae and Elaeagnaceae, and the dominant species Cinnamomum cassia, Durio zibethinus, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Ficus benghalensis, Gnetum gnemon, Mangifera indica, Toona ciliata, Toona sinensis, Cocos nucifera, Tetrameles nudiflora, Ginkgo biloba, Prunus serrulata, Camphora officinarum, Pinus roxburghii, Pinus hwangshanensis, Juniperus tibetica, Juniperus communis, Olea europaea subsp.

cuspidata, Shorea robusta, Taxus sumatrana, Juglans regia, Alnus nepalensis, Betula alnoides, Betula utilis, Larix griffithii, Picea brachytyla, Cathaya argyrophylla, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Cyathea spinulosa, Sassafras tzumu, Davidia involucrata, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Glyptostrobus pensilis, Castanea mollissima, Quercus myrsinifolia, Quercus acuta, Quercus glauca, Machilus thunbergii, Tetracentron, Tsuga dumosa, Ulmus lanceifolia, Tectona grandis, Terminalia elliptica, Terminalia bellirica, Larix gmelinii, Larix sibirica, Larix × czekanowskii, Betula dahurica, Betula pendula, Pinus koraiensis, Pinus sibirica, Pinus sylvestris, Picea obovata, Abies sibirica, Quercus acutissima, Quercus mongolica, Prunus padus, Tilia amurensis, Salix babylonica, Acer palmatum, Acer campbellii, Populus tremula, Ulmus davidiana, Ulmus pumila, Pinus pumila, Haloxylon ammodendron, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, and Prunus sibirica.

[4] In the later half of the 1800s, Joseph Dalton Hooker, a British botanist and explorer, made a huge taxonomic collection for the Kew Herbarium from Khasi and Jaintia Hills and remarked the place as one of the richest biodiversity spots in India, perhaps in all of Asia as well.

[10] The damp and moist environment of the Meghalaya forests also supports what is the most diverse range of amphibians in North-east India, with a total of 33 recorded species living here.

[10] Situated between the mighty Brahmaputra in the north and the Barak River to the south, Meghalaya's many waterways are also home to a diverse range of fish species.

[10] The Western hoolock gibbons in the forests of Meghalaya are globally endangered, and also threatened in this particular habitat, but they have a special place among the local tribes who cherish their song.

[12] Other large mammals important to conservation here includes the tiger (Panthera tigris), clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sun bear (Ursus malayanus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), Indian civet (Viverra zibetha), Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis), bear macaque (Macaca arctoides), and capped leaf monkey (Semnopithecus pileatus).

[22] The Meghalaya subtropical forest ecoregion is part of the larger Indo-Burma biological hotspot with many endemic species not found anywhere else in the world.

[23][24] As seen in other rainforests of the world, deforestation occurs on an alarming scale in Meghalaya too, with accelerated clearcutting for agriculture, industry, mining and infrastructure projects since the 1990s.