Sandgrouses are about 22 to 40 cm (about 9 to 16 inches) long and have gray or brown plumage, pointed wings, short legs, and (in most species) pinlike central tail feathers. They fly swiftly and walk rapidly. As game birds they are hard to kill because of their tough skin and thick feathering. Like pigeons, sandgrouse mate for life. The female lays two or three elongated dark-coloured eggs in a depression in the ground; males incubate by night. The chicks can leave the nest almost as soon as hatched but receive much parental care.

Sandgrouse of the genus Pterocles are bare-toed; those of Syrrhaptes lack the hind toe and have the front toes feathered.