The species grew larger than any living elephant, and some authors have suggested it to have been the largest known land mammal based on extrapolation from fragmentary remains, though these estimates are speculative.

Some authorities historically regarded P. namadicus and the European straight-tusked elephant (P. antiquus) as the same species due to their similar skull morphology.

[1] P. namadicus shares similarities to other species of Palaeoloxodon, which includes a large growth of bone (the parieto-occipital crest) at the top of the skull that overhangs the forehead region, which likely anchored the splenius muscles used to support the head.

Recent research has suggested that P. namadicus can be distinguished from P. antiquus by its less robust (more elongate) limb bones and more stout cranium (including a better developed parieto-occipital crest), and the presence of a teardrop shaped indentation/depression in the infraorbital region behind the eyesocket not found in P.

However, Larramendi stated that this estimate should be "taken with a grain of salt" (treated with caution), as they could not locate the specimen, but speculated that it may be stored in the Indian Museum of Kolkata.

[7] In 2024, Biswas, Chang and Tsai estimated a maximum shoulder height of 4.51 metres (14.8 ft) an body masses between 13.22 to 18.47 tonnes (29,100 to 40,700 lb) for 5 specimens of P. namadicus from the Indian subcontinent.

[2] Remains attributed to P. namadicus have also been reported across Southeast Asia (including Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, and the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia) and as well as China.