The species inhabits coastal waters in the Indo-Pacific, from Pakistan in the west to Japan and Australia in the east, often found over reefs.

Razorbelly scad are predatory fish, taking a variety of crustaceans and shrimps, and show a change in feeding intensity over the year.

Reproduction and development have been extensively studied in India, where spawning occurs in a single event from January to September.

The razorbelly scad was described and named three times after Cuvier's efforts by Bleeker, De Vis and Wakiya.

[2] The identity of the person honoured in the specific name is not known but it is almost certainly the German jurist, historian, botanist, zoologist and mathematician Jacob Theodor Klein (1685–1759), who was the author of a 5-volume history of fishes published in 1740–1749, who was also honoured by Bloch in the name Chaetodon kleinii.

[6] Although the species, including many of its synonyms, has been placed in the genus Alepes for some time, the nature of its teeth has made this placement controversial.

[7] This problem was addressed in a molecular phylogenetic study of the Carangidae in which A. kleinii and A. djedaba (Shrimp scad) were included.

[9] The head of the fish tapers to a pointed snout, with the large eye having a well-developed posterior adipose eyelid.

[2] The razorbelly scad is a predatory fish, whose feeding activity changes, at least in some regions, over the course of a year.

[16] From the data collected, the growth curve predicts a maximum size of 17.1 cm, although it would require a long lifespan.

It is taken by methods including hook and line, gill nets as well as other subsistence fishing gear.