In this paper, the dynamical behavior in a delayed Aron–May model for malaria transmission is investigated. The basic reproduction number is defined. The global stability of the malaria-free equilibrium (MFE) is established. By using the Bendixson theorem, a sufficient condition for the global stability of the delay-free equilibrium (DFE) is also established. Furthermore, to deal with the local stability of endemic equilibrium (EE), by means of the stability switches analysis method proposed in [E. Beretta and Y. Kuang, Geometric stability switch criteria in delay differential systems with delay dependent parameters, SIAM J. Math. Anal. 33(5) (2002) 1144–1165.] the related characteristic equation at EE is investigated, and the occurrence of Hopf bifurcation is discussed by using the incubation period in mosquito as a bifurcation parameter. Last, the simulation analysis is also performed to verify the dynamical behavior of the model.