Like most members of the Boidae family, it is a fairly robust snake that can reach 1,8 meters in length. It has gray and brown bands with black markings that run throughout its body.

It is generally terrestrial, solitary and, like most boas, it is ovoviviparous so the eggs hatch inside the mother's body and are born as completely independent offspring.

Although younger individuals are mainly nocturnal, in the case of adults, there is no pattern of daytime or nighttime activity. It normally hunts at night as it takes advantage of the drop in temperatures to detect the heat emitted by its prey, through heat-sensitive holes around its mouth. It feeds on small mammals that it kills by curling its body around it and suffocating them in its rings.

Dumeril's Boa is classified by the IUCN as "Least Concern" (LC). Threats to this species include widespread habitat destruction in Madagascar due to agriculture and livestock grazing. In some areas, the snakes are captured for food and their skins are used in the leather trade, or they are considered a bad omen and prey on domestic birds.