All species are endemic to Australia and they are generally plants of semi arid to arid regions.
They occur in all mainland states. The plants produce fleshy fruits which are often eaten by birds and animals. The common name derives from the erroneous belief that the fruits are commonly eaten by emus and that the chemical changes that occur in the seed during digestion enhance the rate of seed germination after excretion. In fact, the fruits of relatively few species are eaten by emus and the time of passage through a bird is insufficient to influence germination. Eremophilas have also been valued for medicinal and cultural purposes by Aboriginal people.