Openly branched and sometimes rather spindly shrub 1.5–3 (–4) m high, sometimes a tree to 8 m. Branchlets prominently angled at extremities but soon terete, minutely sericeous, rarely glabrous. New shoots at initiation encrusted with dark brown resin that obscures the underlying appressed indumentum, rarely glabrous. Phyllodes shallowly to moderately falcate, rarely dimidiate, (7–) 12–20 (–22) cm long, 14–36 mm wide, coriaceous, widely spreading, minutely sericeous, silvery green or grey-green to subglaucous, rarely glabrous; longitudinal veins numerous and ±widely spaced, 2 or 3 per mm, with 3 more evident than the rest and the lowermost 2 running together at base of phyllode; minor veins with few anastomoses; apical point knob-like or ±oblong; gland absent from apex of phyllode. Inflorescences 1 or 2 per axil, simple or vestigial binate racemes with axes to 2 mm long; peduncles (1–) 3–10 mm long, sericeous, rarely glabrous; spikes 3–5 cm long, bright golden, flowers subdensely arranged; bracteoles spathulate, 0.7 mm long. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united; petals glabrous. Pods linear, straight to shallowly curved, 3.5–5 mm wide, chartaceous to coriaceous, very sparsely minutely hairy or glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ±oblong, 3.5–5 mm long, glossy, dark brown to black; aril yellow.
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It is a rather spindly shrub up to 5-7 m tall. The small branches are 3 sided. The leaves (phyllodes) are sickle shaped. They are 8-20 cm long and 0.9-2.4 cm wide. The young leaves are often covered with soft hairs. The leaves have veins running along the length of them. The flowers are dense spikes. They are yellow. The spikes are 1.5 to 4 cm long. They are on stalks 4-12 mm long. The pods are 7.5-12 cm long and curved. They are narrow (0.3-0.4 cm), flat and not twisted. They are densely clustered together. The pods are raised over the seeds.
Acacia cowleana is a fast growing, short-lived species often used in seed-mixes for mine site rehabilitation. It has been rarely cultivated compared to its close relative A. elachantha. The information given under A. cowleana in J.C. Doran & J.W. Turnbull (eds), Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for Land Rehabilitation and Farm Planting in the Tropics 134–135 (1997), and P. Latz, Bushfires and Bushtucker 94 (1995), is mainly attributable to A. elachantha.
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The seeds are ground into flour and mixed with water then eaten raw. (Damper made from the seeds is claimed to cause headaches.)
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