Hawkfishes [or cirrhitids] are familiar to divers and often feature in underwater photographs of fishes, as most species are sedentary and not too shy, hence easy to photograph. A distinctive characteristic that cirrhitids share with the related fingerfins [Family Cheilodactylidae] are the enlarged, unbranched, lower pectoral-fin rays, which are used to wedge the fish in place when they are sitting on the bottom, especially in areas of surge or wave-washed tidepools. Hawkfishes have a single dorsal fin with 10 spines and 1117 rays; if you can get close, you can also see one or more short filaments [cirri] at the tip of each dorsal-fin spine. Most hawkfish are solitary, sedentary and commonly seen sitting on coral or on sandy bottom near the reef. They are carnivores, feeding on a variety of small crustaceans and fishes.

The family comprises some 35 species, most of which occur in the Indo-Pacific region; with 8 species known from southern Africa.