Xenops minutus lives in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. It has an upturned bill, a long white eyebrow, and a white throat. An older regional account from southeastern Brazil uses the pre-split name Plain Xenops.
A southeastern Brazilian account describes a sepia-brown crown, cinnamon-brown mantle, rufous rump, long white eyebrow and malar stripe, rusty wing band, and white throat. The upper breast is faintly buff-streaked.
In the southeastern Brazilian account, the bird forages in the lower and middle levels of dense forest and is associated with humid primary and secondary rainforest. Calls were recorded in secondary forest at Cananeia and Ilha do Cardoso.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.