It is native to the tropical western Indian Ocean where it is confined to the coasts of Madagascar, growing in shallow water.

Stylophora madagascarensis is a colonial species of coral forming clumps of slender, compact branches with blunt ends.

The corallites (stony cups in which the polyps sit) are crowded and circular, with those near the tips of the branches often being hooded.

It grows in shallow water, both on moderately exposed reefs and in more sheltered lagoons, where it tends to have longer branches.

Its small total population size makes this coral more vulnerable to these threats than a more widespread species.