It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.16.

[2] Based upon an annual parallax shift of 5.07 mas as seen from the Earth,[1] the star is located about 640 light years from the Sun, give or take 30 light years.

This is an evolved, orange-hued K-type giant/bright giant star with a stellar classification of K0 II-III[3] It shows an infrared excess, which may be due to leftover material from a mass-loss event.

[7] The star has an estimated 2.63 times the mass of the Sun,[6] and radiates 447 times the solar luminosity from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 4,490 K.[6] Phi Capricorni is around 1.24[6] billion years old and is spinning with a projected rotational velocity of 3.8 km/s.

[10] Consequently, the Chinese name for φ Capricorni itself represents the state Chu (楚),[11] together with ε Ophiuchi in Right Wall of Heavenly Market Enclosure (asterism).