Gliese 1061 is a red dwarf star located approximately 12 light-years (3.7 parsecs) from Earth in the southern constellation of Horologium. Even though it is a relatively nearby star, it has an apparent visual magnitude of about 13, so it can only be seen with at least a moderately-sized telescope.

The proper motion of Gliese 1061 has been known since 1974, but it was estimated to be further away: approximately 25 light-years (7.7 parsecs) distant based upon an estimated parallax of 0.130″. The RECONS accurately determined its distance in 1997. At that time, it was the 20th-nearest star system to the Sun. The discovery team noted that many more stars like this are likely to be discovered nearby.

This star is a tiny, dim, red dwarf, close to the lower mass limit. It has an estimated mass of about 12.5% that of the Sun and is only about 0.2% as luminous. The star displays no significant infrared excess due to circumstellar dust.