It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to South Africa, and in the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira, and the Canary Islands at depths ranging from 5 to 625 m (although they usually stay at depths of 5–50m).

The common smooth-hound has a grey-brown back and is white on its underneath.

It is often confused with the starry smooth-hound, which has white spots on its back.

The starry smooth-hound can often have faded spots that leads to misidentification.

Like other smooth-hound sharks, the common smooth-hound aggregates in large numbers, like a pack of dogs, so they are called hounds.