Durio malaccensis is a medium-sized tree that reaches about 40–50 m tall and having small buttresses about 30 cm high. The outer bark is lenticellate and rough, grayish green, while the inner bark is reddish-pink, fibrous and the sapwood are pinkish white. The leaves are dark-green and glossy above, densely minutely appressed silvery-brown scaly below and leathery. The flower buds of D. malaccensis are greenish brown with golden scales, abovoid and pointed while the odorless-flower are creamy-white. The fruits have been reported as green when young, turning to dull grey-green at maturity. The ripe fruit is ellipsoid-globose, somewhat pointed at the top and covered with rather stout pyramidal spines. Each fruit has 5 compartments, each containing 1–3 seeds, but the pulp is covering only about half of the seeds.

The species is distributed in Peninsular Malaysia (Terengganu, Johore, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Selangor and Pahang) and also can be found in Sumatera. Locally, this species is known as durian batang, durian daun or durian tong (in Malay) and mostly found in lowland forests besides rocky streams or on ridges and hillslopes up to 1,000 m above sea level. Locally, the wood is used for cheaper furniture, cabinets, light-traffic flooring, paneling, partitioning, plywood, chests boxes, wooden slippers, low-quality coffins and ship building.