The short, thick fur of the African Civet is greyish in colour, and it features rows of black markings all over its body. About one-third of the base of their tail has striped markings, while their legs and approximately two thirds of their tail are black. With the exception of a white snout and black lines running down their face from the eyes, their face is a solid shade of grey.

Black and white bars run down the sides of their long necks; typically, a black bar is encircled by two white bars, one above and one below. They have a short mane that runs the length of their back, ranging from 3 to 10 cm. 40 teeth make up a civet. Each paw has five appendages with non-retractable claws.

Civets have six mammae. They weigh between 7 and 20 kg, with a head and body length of 680 to 890 mm and a tail length of 445 to 63 mm. The colour is black with bands, stripes, and white or yellowish specks. The tail has thick hair that is coarse and lengthy. Civettictis can be identified from Viverra by having substantially larger molar teeth and a much wider lower canine.

Carrion, rodents, birds, eggs, reptiles, frogs, crabs, insects, fruits, and other vegetation are all part of the omnivorous diet. Sometimes they take young lambs and poultry. This nocturnal species is most active an hour or two after dusk, when it searches for food sources such as fruit, mice, reptiles, frogs, insects, and birds.

African Civet females are sexually active at one year old and may have two litters a year. One to three young in a litter is typical. Because they can have two or three litters a year, females are polyestrous. In a litter, there are typically one to four young. Young Civets are born in advanced stages relative to most carnivores. They have complete fur, although it is softer, shorter, and darker than that of an adult.

Comparing their marks to adult ones, they are less distinct. At birth, young can crawl, and by the fifth day, their rear legs are supporting their body. The first indications of play behavior appear at around two weeks, and they begin to leave the nest between 17 and 18 days.

The young Civets are completely dependent on mother's milk for about 6 weeks. After about 42 days, their mother provides them with solid food. By the second month, they are catching food for themselves.

For almost six weeks, the young civets are entirely reliant on their mother's milk. Their mother gives them solid food after roughly 42 days. They start catching food for themselves by the second month.

The African Civet lives alone, with the exception of mating. Due to their nocturnal and reclusive existence, little is known about civet habits. They constantly smear secretions from the perineal glands on things that are approximately 350 mm above ground in order to mark their territories and announce their presence. The strong musky odor of this glandular fluid might linger for up to three months.

Despite their propensity for solitude, civets communicate through a range of visual, olfactory, and aural cues. People may have clearly demarcated and delimited areas. Scent glands play a significant part in social interactions by releasing scents along a pathway that communicate information about things like a female's oestrus. Civets behave in a very submissive manner.

African Civets inhabit both open area and forests, however during the daytime they appear to need a thicket or covering of tall grasses for protection. Rarely are they seen in dry parts of Africa. Rather, they are typically found in proximity to long-term water systems.

It appears that it only uses a permanent nest or burrow when it has young. It is almost entirely terrestrial and nocturnal, yet it swims well and takes to the water easily.