They are a breed of Hobbits. They were brown- skinned, smaller and shorter than others, and they were beardless and wore no shoes. Their hands and feet were neat and nimble. They preferred to make their homes in highlands and hillsides.

In the ancient times, they had a lot to do with the Dwarves, and lived in the foothills of the Misty Mountains. They moved westward earlier than the other Hobbits, and roamed in Eriador as far as Weathertop.

They preferred to settle and live in one place, they also preserved their ancestor's habit of living in tunnels and holes in the ground. The Harfoots were considered the most 'normal' of Hobbits, and were very numerous.