Information about its diet is limited, but it is suspected to be one of the more insectivorous slow loris species, and is also known to eat gum from woody plants.

Prior to being divided into four distinct species in 2013, it was found in numerous protected areas within its range, making it the least threatened of the slow lorises.

The Bornean slow loris was first described based on specimens collected by Frank S. Bourns and Dean C. Worcester during the Menage Scientific Expedition to the Philippines and Borneo in the early 1890s.

The original collection was made between 5 October and 5 November 1891 near Tataan, Tawi-Tawi Island, in the Philippines,[5] however this type specimen is missing as of 2013.

[11] In his influential 1953 book Primates: Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy, the primatologist William Charles Osman Hill placed all the slow lorises in one species, N. coucang.

[13][14] Nycticebus menagensis was elevated to the species level in 2006 when molecular analysis of DNA sequences of the D-loop and the cytochrome b gene demonstrated it to be genetically distinct from N. coucang.

[25] It also has a small swelling on the ventral side of its elbow called the brachial gland, which secretes a pungent, clear oily toxin that the animal uses defensively by wiping it on its toothcomb.

[31] The slow lorises of Borneo are among the smallest of its genus, but this species can be distinguished from the others by its pale golden to red fur, low-contrast markings on its face and head, and the consistent lack of a second upper incisor.

N. menagensis is found primarily in coastal and lowland areas in northern and eastern Borneo, in the provinces of Brunei, Sabah, and East Kalimantan.

[2] Because the species is so popular as a pet, zoologists Guy Musser and Lawrence Heaney suggested in 1985 that the Philippine populations may have been introduced there by humans.

[37] Of the four slow lorises living on Borneo, N. menagensis is believed to be partly sympatric with N. kayan only, with ranges that overlap in East Kalimantan and Sabah.

[39] In a field study at the Sabangau National Park in Central Kalimantan, only 12 slow loris sightings were made over a 75-day period.

In another survey conducted at Wehea Forest, East Kalimantan, only one Philippine slow loris—seen at a height of 30 m (98 ft)—was encountered in an area of more than 30 km2 (12 sq mi).

[45] However, as pointed out by Nekaris and colleagues, this assessment was based on field research data and historic museum specimens, and cannot be considered reliable, as "loris ‘presence’ is usually not determined first-hand, and it also cannot be presumed that lorises still occur in areas from where they were once collected.

[2] Threats to the species include the illegal local exotic pet trade[43][48] and habitat loss due to burning and conversion to palm oil plantations.

[49] It was classified as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN, who consider there to have been a greater than 30% reduction in population between roughly 1984 and 2008, based on harvesting for the pet trade and extensive habitat loss.