Ray has golden yellow fur and dark tan skin on his muzzle, inner ears and front torso. He has black eyes, a small tapered hair tuft at the top back of his head (making it appear somewhat teardrop-shaped), a furry skin membrane connecting his waist to his lower arms, small, perky triangular ears, a shiny, bulbous black nose and a long club-shaped tail.

Ray wears white gloves with large cuffs. He also wears blue sneakers with white straps

Ray is a 5 year old youthful, innocent, sweet, polite, and friendly flying squirrel. He appears to be slightly gullible and naïve, sometimes getting tricked into being caught by villains. What Ray lacks in raw strength, he makes up for with pure enthusiasm and excitement. Maybe a little too excitement. He has a love for adventure, often gliding to high places to get a view of the land below.

During the tyrannical rule of Dr. Robotnik, Ray's often left behind on South Island while the Freedom Fighters went on missions to stop Robotnik because he was too young. Ray, however, often expressed his desire to be involved in the freedom fighting cause which would make him jump into things too fast, leaving him to getting caught by villains. As such, Mighty and his friends often has to rescue Ray, though he is not completely helpless.

Ray is capable of running at high speeds, like Sonic, and is also rather agile. Being a flying squirrel, he also has prehensile tail that he is seen capitalizing as a third hand.

Ray can also perform the Spin Attack, Spin Jump, and the Spin Dash, which are techniques where he curls into a concussive ball or cutting disk and directs himself at his targets. With them, Ray can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed. Being a flying squirrel, he is also able to glide on the wind using his skin flaps.

Mighty's best friend and his own sidekick. Ray's friendship with Mighty the Armadillo has earned him a guardian angel of sorts in the Armadillo, and Ray never need fear that danger will befall him while Mighty is around-or that Mighty will fail to avenge him should he fall or be captured. This connection makes Ray feel comfortable, and the thought of Mighty going off without him or any other backup frightened Ray so much that he pleaded with Mighty to take him along. Their relationship is portrayed with varying degrees, mostly like brothers, but also like parent and child with Mighty being more-or-less Ray's legal guardian. In fact, if it wasn't for Ray wanting Mighty to give Sonic and Tails a chance, they all probably wouldn't be friends. While Ray is indeed useful to Mighty in many situations, he can be a hindrance. Because he is very young and cannot defend himself, he is incredibly susceptible to being kidnapped by Robotnik and used as bait for Mighty. Mighty appears to know of this flaw and does his best to protect him, but his protection methods are often the reason why Ray gets kidnapped in the first place.

Like Mighty, Ray like Tails. He thinks of Tails like his slightly older brother he never had.

Ray has the same relationship he has with Robotnik as the others. Only he hates him even more when he kidnapped him