The Madagascan rousette (Rousettus madagascariensis) is the smallest of Madagascar’s three endemic fruit bats. Its body is greyish-brown on the upperparts, with reddish-brown tinges, and paler grey-brown on the underparts. The fur is quite long and dense, but shorter on the neck, throat and shoulders. The wings are relatively broad.

As in other fruit bats, the face of the Madagascan rousette is rather dog-like, with a pointed muzzle, large eyes, and fairly conspicuous, widely separated ears. Although most fruit bats rely on sight and smell as their main senses, some members of the genus Rousettus also use a rudimentary form of echolocation, producing high-pitched clicks with the tongue to help detect obstacles in their path. The association of the Madagascan rousette with cave roost sites suggests that this species is also likely to possess this ability.