The Binturong is a generally solitary and nocturnal animal that spends the majority of its time moving about slowly and cautiously amongst the trees. Due to their large size the Binturong cannot leap between one tree and another and so must climb down to the ground to go from tree to tree.

They are excellent climbers and are well aided by their strong feet, agile bodies, semi-retractable claws and their prehensile tail. The Binturong is also known to both swim and dive well and often spends time in the water to simply cool down in the heat of the sun. Although they do tend to be mainly solitary, small groups of Binturong are not uncommon and usually consist of an adult pair and their young.

As with the hierarchy in Mongoose society however, it is the female Binturong who remains the dominant adult. The Binturong is known to be a very vocal animal and makes a number of sounds to both communicate with other Binturongs and to warn off species that it sees to be a threat. They are known to make chuckling sounds when they seem to be happy and appear to utter a high-pitched wail if they become aggravated.