It is almost black in C. torquatus and dark brown in C. parvidens. The wings are attached to the back near the midline, and unlike in most Molossidae, the ears are separate and the lips are smooth. A pouch is present in both sexes along the sides of the body, formed by an extension of a fold of skin to the upper arm bone and to the upper leg bone. This pouch opens toward the rear and is 25-50 mm deep. When the membrane portions of the wings are folded within the pouch, the bat can move about relatively freely on all four limbs.
Naked bats roost in hollow trees, rock crevices, and holes in the earth.
Cheiromeles has been seen at dusk flying high in the air with a rapid flight. A captive individual was maintained for several weeks on a diet of grasshoppers and moths. The mammae are located near the opening of the pouch, and it was formerly thought that the young were carried and nursed in this pocket. The young are probably left in the roost by the parents when they leave on their evening flights.