Its bite is extraordinarily fast and accurate. The ungripped prey is allowed to pull away and to attempt an escape, but after a short delay, the Taipan follows the scent of the prey towards its cover or retreat, which it rarely reaches before succumbing to the venom. Juveniles killing small mammals usually bite and maintain their jaw grip until the prey can be ingested. The Taipan usually restricts its activity on the surface to the mid-morning. It may extend or change this to include late afternoon in cooler weather, in hot weather it is nocturnal.
Male Taipans can grow significantly larger than females and ritual male combat occurs in spring.
Mating in captivity has been recorded from March to December with a peak from July to October. The female can retain her eggs long enough for the embryos to develop to an advanced stage before she lays. Eggs incubated artificially at about 30 degrees C hatch in 61 to 84 days and the young leave their egg cases about one or two days after the first hatching slits are made. Males become mature at as little as 16 months of age, females at 28 months. Its reputation for accuracy, speed and effectiveness is well deserved.