A forest-dwelling elephant of the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three extant species of elephant, but is also the third-largest living terrestrial animal. Formerly considered either a synonym or a subspecies of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), a 2010 study established the two are distinct species.

The disputed pygmy elephants of the Congo Basin, often assumed to be a separate species (Loxodonta pumilio) by cryptozoologists, are probably forest elephants whose diminutive size and/or early maturity is due to environmental conditions. Adult "pygmy elephants" have reportedly weighed as little as 900 kg (1,980 lb). African forest elephants were famously the species used by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, as war elephants in his crossing of the Alps during the Punic Wars against the Romans.

Differences include the African forest elephant's long, narrow mandible (the African bush elephant's is short and wide), its rounded ears (an African bush elephant's ears are more pointed), straighter and downward tusks, considerably smaller size, and number of toenails. The male African forest elephant rarely exceeds 2.5 m (8 ft) in height, while the African bush elephant is usually over 3 m (just under 10 ft) and sometimes almost 4 m (13 ft) tall. Weight is reportedly around 2.7 tonnes (5,950 lb), with the largest specimens attaining 6 tonnes (13,230 lb). With regard to the number of toenails, the African bush elephant normally has four toenails on the forefoot and three on the hindfoot; the African forest elephant normally has five toenails on the forefoot and four on the hindfoot (like the Asian elephant), but hybrids between the two species occur.

The African forest elephant is an herbivore, and commonly eats leaves, fruit, and bark, with occasional visits to mineral licks. It eats a high proportion of fruit, and is sometimes the only disperser of some tree species.

Owing to poaching and the high demand for ivory, the African forest elephant population approached critical levels in the 1990s and early 2000s. Late in the 20th century, conservation workers established a DNA identification system to trace the origin of poached ivory. It had long been known that the ivory of the African forest elephant was particularly hard, with a pinkish tinge, and straight (whereas that of the African bush elephant is curved). The DNA tests, however, indicated the two populations were much more different than previously appreciated — indeed, in its genetic makeup, the African forest elephant is almost two-thirds as distinct from the African bush elephant as the Asian elephant is.