The little-known Anderson's gerbil is a relatively slender-built, medium-sized gerbil. It has fairly long, dense fur, which is dark tan with some orange and red tints on the upperparts, and white on the underside. It has large, prominent ears which are dark in colour, and is distinguishable from other species of the Gerbillus genus due to a less distinct white patch behind the ear. As is typical of Gerbillus species, Anderson’s gerbil possesses large eyes, which are encircled by a thin, black ring. A relatively indistinct white patch sits above each eye, and a fairly thick, dark band stretches from the eyes to the ears. As is characteristic of Gerbillus species, this gerbil has long hind legs and short front legs.

Anderson’s gerbil is similar to the lesser Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillus gerbillus) in both size and the fact that it is a ‘hairy-footed’ gerbil, meaning the soles of its feet are completely haired; it is for these similarities that early taxonomists classified Anderson’s gerbil as a subspecies of the lesser Egyptian gerbil. However, the two are distinguishable by many traits, including the fact that Anderson's gerbil has darker fur and smaller ears than Gerbillus gerbillus.