Darling's horseshoe bat was described as a new species in 1905 by Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen.

The holotype had been collected in the village of Mazowe in Zimbabwe by James ffolliott Darling, who is the eponym for its species name "darlingi".

[2] Darling's horseshoe bat is considered medium-sized for an African horseshoe bat, with a forearm length of 42–51 mm (1.7–2.0 in) and weights of 6–13 g (0.21–0.46 oz).

[3] Darling's horseshoe bat is widely distributed in southern Africa, where it has been documented in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

It roosts in caves, rocky outcrops, mines, and human structures.