While found both in coastal and oceanic waters, it is most abundant up to 40 or 50 miles offshore (Strasburg 1958, Gubanov 1972, Moreno et al. 1989, Bedford 1992). It ranges between surface waters and 366 m depth (Compagno 1984).

The maximum recorded size varies with sex and geographic location and ranges from 415 to 573 cm total length (TL) (Gubanov 1972, Cailliet et al. 1983, Compagno 1984, Moreno et al. 1989). Females are reported to mature between 260 and 465 cm TL (Bigelow and Schroeder 1948, Strasburg 1958, Gubanov 1978, Cailliet and Bedford 1983, Cailliet et al. 1983, Ebert 2003) and males between 260 and 426.7 cm TL (Cailliet and Bedford 1983, Cailliet et al. 1983). Estimated age at maturity ranges from three to nine years in females (Bigelow and Schroeder 1948, Strasburg 1958, Gubanov 1978, Cailliet and Bedford 1983, Cailliet et al. 1983, Hanan 1984) and three to seven years in males (Cailliet and Bedford 1983, Cailliet et al. 1983). The species reaches a maximum age of at least 24 years (Gervelis and Natanson 2013). The estimated generation time (assuming maturity of seven years and longevity of 24 years) is about 15 years.

This shark is live bearing, with oophagy and a gestation period of nine months (Gubanov 1978, Cailliet et al. 1983, Moreno et al. 1989, Bedford 1992, Gilmore 1993). Mating occurs in middle to late summer and parturition occurs during the spring (Moreno et al. 1989, Bedford 1992). Pregnant females have also been noted in August and November indicating that birth of young can occur throughout the year (Gubanov 1978). Litter sizes range between three and seven in the Northeast Atlantic (Gubanov 1972, Gubanov 1978, Cailliet and Bedford 1983, Hanan 1984, Holts 1988, Moreno et al. 1989). Size at birth varies considerably, from 100 to 158 cm TL with slight variations among geographical locations (Cailliet et al. 1983, Compagno 1984, Hanan 1984, Moreno et al. 1989). In all locations, the young generally remain close to shore after parturition and during their first few years (Moreno et al. 1989). Small individuals, with the estimated length at birth, have been recorded in the southern North Sea during the summer (Ellis 2004). Moreno et al. (1989) noted a high degree of sexual and size segregation in the Northeast Atlantic during pupping season.

This species is thought to have some important parturition and nursery areas in the Mediterranean Sea, specifically in the Adriatic and Alboran Seas (Notarbartolo di Sciara and Bianchi 1998, Soldo 2006).