This species is characterized by its glabrescent habit, flattened smooth to weakly costate internodes, apiculate costate stipules, somewhat small thin-textured leaves, flowers in subcapitate to shortly fasciculate terminal groups of 2 to several, rather well developed slender corollas with the tube about as long as the lobes, and medium-sized ellipsoid fruits. The inflorescences are borne at the stem apex along with a pair of leaves, which appear to vary from sized and shaped similarly to the vegetative leaves, to smaller and ovate. Mueller (1881) separated Coussarea graciliflora and Coussarea catingana based on on the size and shape of these leaves, but these leaves appear to vary continuously in size and shape; accordingly these names were synonymized by the Brazil Catalogue and are synonymized here. The leaves on the type specimens of both of these names have well developed crypt-type domatia, however a number of specimens included here from Espírito Santo and Bahia lack domatia and perhaps need further study (e.g., Andrade & Lopes 454, MB Horta et al. 315, Jardim et al. 195, Amorim et al. 1268); these specimens without domatia also have leaves subtending the inflorescences that vary from ovate to elliptic and similar to the vegetative leaves.

Coussarea graciliflora is similar to Coussarea triflora, with the leaves shiny abaxially and lacking domatia. Coussarea graciliflora is also similar to Coussarea leptopus, which has branched inflorescences, leaves without domatia, on average larger leaves, and smaller corollas. The type of the species named by Mueller as "catingana" is not from dry caatinga forest, but from coastal Atlantic forest or perhaps restinga.