Ingenia appears to have been a fairly typical member of the family of dinosaurs that includes the Oviraptor. It was a small, fast carnivore with keen senses and it was highly intelligent for animals of the Cretaceous era. The main difference between Ingenia and its other family members was in the shape of the hands on its front limbs.
Nests and embryos have been found, indicating that Ingenia had some parenting instincts. It had an apparently powerful hand relative to the other oviraptorines, but a less powerful jaw. Its skull shows a number of avian characteristics, linking this family with birds.