The Kimberley has a huge variety of habitats which support very diverse animal and plant communities. The region's geographic positioning and the barrier provided by desert conditions to the south has resulted in the Kimberley having flora and fauna distinct from elsewhere in Western Australia. Kimberley biota is more closely related to the 'top end' of the Northern Territory and Queensland.

The north west Kimberley is notable as the only region of Western Australia, and one of very few in Australia, that appears to have retained its complete fauna without extinction in the period since European settlement.

The impacts on the flora and fauna since European settlement have resulted primarily from changes in the fire regime, the effects of pastoral land use, feral predators and weed invasion.