The smooth lumpfish was first formally described as Cyclopterus ventricosus in 1769 by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas with its type locality given as Tauyskaya Bay near Ol'skiy Island in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Their pelvic fins are modified to form a clinging disc with a thickened margin on the ventral surface of the body.

They inhabit both near-bottom and mid-water layers, ranging from 5 to 1,700 m. They are preyed upon by certain fish species, marine mammals and seabirds.

[8] The smooth lumpfish is an iteroparous gonochoristic species with determinate fecundity, group-synchronous ovary organization, total spawning (release of 1 batch of eggs per breeding season), and external fertilization.

Smooth lumpfish perform spawning migration from deep-ocean to coastal zones, where breeding occurs over a rocky bottom at depths shallower than 10 m (33 ft).