Greenland halibut are found in the northern reaches of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in a circumpolar distribution with a high concentration off the west coast of Greenland. In North America, they range from northern Greenland to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and from Alaska to Baha California. Significant populations exist in the deep waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador. They prefer cold temperatures and softer substrates consisting of mud and sandy mud.

Closely related to the Atlantic halibut, Greenland halibut are a diamond-shaped, right-eyed flatfish with a slight fork in their tail. Their colouration is fairly uniform and ranges from a yellowish to greyish-brown, with a paler underside. Greenland halibut can be distinguished from Atlantic halibut by their straight lateral line (compared with the Atlantic halibut's arched lateral line). They grow to more than a metre in length and weigh more than 10 kilograms, and can live more than 20 years.