The publicly accessible portion of MS 32 is divided into two sections, the first of which begins near Perthshire and runs eastward to the rear entrance of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP).

It heads east through rural farmland as a two-lane highway for a few miles to cross Bogue Phalia before entering the town of Shelby along S Lake Street.

The highway has an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61) and US 278 before leaving Shelby and traveling through flat farmland for several miles to cross into Sunflower County.

Public access to the highway ends at the western main gate of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, located just after a bridge over a small bayou, with MS 32 continuing unsigned through the center of the prison grounds for the next 5.5 miles (8.9 km).

The highway now narrows back to two-lanes, leaves Charleston, and starts gaining elevation as it climbs some Loess bluffs out of the Delta Region into the North Central Hills of the Appalachian Mountains.

It has an intersection with MS 727 (Hickory Street) on the outskirts of Oakland before crossing into Yalobusha County and entering the city limits.

The highway travels through more wooded areas as it passes along the southern shoreline of Enid Lake for the next several miles, where it has an intersection County Road 170 (CR 170; provides access to George P. Cossar State Park), before traveling through the southern outskirts of Water Valley, where it has an intersection with MS 7 and a short concurrency with MS 315.

MS 32 leaves the Water Valley area and winds its way through hilly woodlands for several miles to cross into Calhoun County.