Kemendok Nature Reserve is the only riverbank (riparian) nature reserve managed by the NPWS on the Murray River. The banks, levees, billabongs and flood plains of the Murray River support river red gum forests, black box woodlands, old man salt bush shrublands, canegrass, lignum swamps, and river cooba thickets.

The reserve is the focus of the major regent parrot nesting area that extends into the surrounding Mallee Cliffs State Forest. This site alone is believed to contain more than half the known nesting sites in NSW.

An extraordinary variety of insectivorous bats are recorded from the nature reserve and adjacent forests. These include the white striped mastiff bat and golden forest eptesicus. The outstanding variety of mammals present in these riparian forests includes feather tailed glider, sugar glider, koala and platypus.