The tree is small to medium sized, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, with a crooked trunk and spreading branches. The branchlets are glabrous or finely pubescent, 10-20 cm long, usually deciduous; the leaves simple, subsessile and closely set along branchlets, light green, resembling pinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with 6 vertical stripes or furrows.

Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste of Indian gooseberry is sour, bitter and astringent, and is quite fibrous. In India, it is common to eat gooseberries steeped in salt water and turmeric to make the sour fruits palatable.

The fruit pulp, which constitutes 90.97 per cent of the whole fruit, contains 70.5 per cent moisture. The total soluble solids constitute 23.8 per cent of the juice. The acidity of Amla is 3.28 per cent on pulp basis. The pulp contains 5.09 percent total sugars and 5.08 per cent reducing sugars. The ascorbic acid content is 1,094.53 mg per 100 ml of juice. The tannins and pectin content of the pulp is 2.73 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively.

The fruit pulp contains 0.75 per cent protein. The mineral content of the edible portion, as represented by its ash, is 2.922 per cent. The percentage content of the mineral elements, viz. phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron is 0.027, 0.368, 0.059, 0.248 and 0.004 respectively.

Indian gooseberry has undergone preliminary research, demonstrating in vitro antiviral and antimicrobial properties. There is preliminary evidence in vitro that its extracts induce apoptosis and modify gene expression in osteoclasts involved in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

Experimental preparations of leaves, bark or fruit have shown potential efficacy against laboratory models of disease, such as for inflammation, cancer, age-related renal disease, and diabetes.

A human pilot study demonstrated reduction of blood cholesterol levels in both normal and hypercholesterolemic men. Another very recent study with alloxan-induced diabetic rats given an aqueous amla fruit extract has shown significant decrease of the blood glucose as well as triglyceridemic levels and an improvement of the liver function caused by a normalization of the liver-specific enzyme alanine transaminase (ALT) activity.

Although fruits are reputed to contain high amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), 445 mg/100g, the specific contents are disputed and the overall antioxidant strength of amla may derive instead from its high density of tannins and other polyphenols. The fruit also contains flavonoids, kaempferol, ellagic acid and gallic acid