This is the only surviving semi-terrestrial diurnal lemur in Madagascar. Adult body weight varies from 3 to 3.5 kg. The back is gray to rosy brown, limbs and haunches are gray, and the crown and neck are dark gray. The underside is white. The face is white except for dark triangular eye patches and a black nose.
Ears are angular with white hair on top.
The tail, which gives this lemur its common name, is ringed with alternating black and white bands. This species is the best known of all Malagasy lemurs and is immediately identified by its strikingly banded tail. It cannot be confused with other lemurs within its range or with any other Malagasy lemur. One additional population occurs near the mountains of Andringita on the southeastern plateau. The ring-tailed lemur is the most intensively studied of all lemur taxa.