V. harveyi is rod-shaped, motile (via polar flagella), facultatively anaerobic, halophilic, and competent for both fermentative and respiratory metabolism.

[2] Additionally, based on samples taken by ocean-going ships, V. harveyi is thought to be the cause of the milky seas effect, in which, during the night, a uniform blue glow is emitted from the seawater.

Groups of V. harveyi bacteria communicate by quorum sensing to coordinate the production of bioluminescence and virulence factors.

Qrr RNA molecules are responsible for controlling regulator translation, repressing and promoting factors dependent on cell density.

V. harveyi uses a second AI, termed autoinducer-2 or AI-2, which is unusual because it is made and detected by a variety of different bacteria, both Gram-negative and Gram-positive.