The Rufous-cheeked Nightjar lives in dry country and catches flying insects at dusk. Its back is finely marked, and adult males have white tips on the outer tail feathers.
Males show a rufous nuchal collar and white tips on the outer tail feathers. The back has fine grey markings.
It mainly hunts at dusk, catching flying beetles, moths, grasshoppers, and other insects over open ground or around water.
In southern Africa it usually lays two pinkish-cream eggs with reddish-brown and lilac marks in a shallow depression, often on stony ground. Incubation begins with the first egg and lasts 15–17 days, with the female incubating by day and the male at night.
By day it roosts on shaded ground under a tree or bush, alone or in pairs. It can drink on the wing while skimming over water.
Females have smaller rufous primary spots and usually lack the male’s white outer tail tips. Juveniles resemble females but are browner and plainer overall.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.