Sebastes miniatus was first formally described in 1880 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert with the type locality given as Santa Barbara and Monterey, California.

The specific name miniatus means "bright red" or "scarlet" a reference to the color of the vermilion fins and body.

[1] The color of this species varies from dark red to vermilion with gray or black spotting on the back and flanks.

[6] Sebastes miniatus occurs in the eastern Pacific from San Quintin, Baja California in Mexico[5] north to Prince William Sound in Alaska.

The spines of the dorsal and anal fins have glands in them that can produce a mild venom which may cause painful wounds if they break the skin.

[8] Sebastes miniatus is targeted by commercial fisheries and is a major component of the landings of rockfish, frequently caught by trawling in deep water as well as by hook and line and gill nets.