It has an elongated body with a broad black stripe running from the upper lip, through the eye, and along the upper side of the body to beneath the second dorsal fin. The upper body is greyish-green with yellow-edged scales, while the lower body is white with narrow reddish scale edges. The caudal peduncle is yellow dorsally with a rounded black spot, the caudal fin is yellow, and the second dorsal and anal fins are marked with narrow blue and yellow stripes.

It looks like Parupeneus barberinus (Dot-and-dash goatfish), which has a longer black stripe extending from the snout to the rear of the second dorsal fin, unlike Parupeneus forsskali, which has a shorter stripe ending around the eye.