Located in a limestone tower karst region of the Annamite Range in Khammouane Province, it is home to a number of rare or newly discovered species.

[3] The vegetation of Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area is shaped by its tropical savanna climate, and the rugged, cave-riddled and porous karst terrain.

[5] Another species discovered in the Phou Hin Poun NBCA, Saxatilomys paulinae, represents a new genus of the Murinae subfamily, the Old World rats and mice.

[6] Mammals known or suspected to live in Phou Hin Poun include the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), the Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), the critically endangered saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), the giant muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis), the Assam macaque (Macaca assamensis), François' langur (Semnopithecus francoisi laotum), and the black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor).

[7] Birds found in Phou Hin Poun NBCA include the grey peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum), the hill myna (Gracula religiosa), red-collared woodpecker (Picus rabieri), the sooty babbler (Stachyris herberti), and the wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus).