ARL8A is a member of the small GTPase superfamily and belongs to the Arf family. It enables GTP binding and plays a role in lysosome motility. In neurons, it mediates the anterograde axonal long-range transport of presynaptic lysosome-related vesicles, a process required for presynaptic biogenesis and synaptic function. It may also play a role in chromosome segregation.

The protein is annotated at the membranes of late endosomes and lysosomes. It is also found in the cytoplasm and cytoskeleton at the spindle, in axons and at synapses. NCBI Gene additionally places it at the midbody and the spindle midzone, which is consistent with a proposed role in chromosome segregation. Researchers studying the ARL8A gene or the ARL8A protein can therefore approach it from the perspective of both organelle transport and cell division.

The official HGNC name is ARF like GTPase 8A, and UniProt lists the protein as ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 8A. The gene has previously been named ADP-ribosylation factor-like 10B (ARL10B), and Gie2 and FLJ45195 are also used as aliases. The mouse ortholog is Arl8a. Related Arf family members, such as ARL1, are useful points of comparison when examining small GTPase function.