This coral is native to shallow tidal pools in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The cup-shaped corallites in which they sit have a solid central columella and poorly-developed calcareous septa in two whorls of six.

[4][5] Stylaraea punctata is known from widely separated locations in the tropical Indo-Pacific region including East Africa, the Seychelles, Indonesia, the Great Barrier Reef and Guam.

Its habitat is shallow tidal pools seldom more than half a metre deep, just above the sediment and hidden under dead pieces of coral or under massive coralline algae.

[6] The IUCN lists Stylaraea punctata as "Data deficient" as there is insufficient evidence to judge its status and whether any conservation measures are required.