The 26-year-old winger was handed a one-week ban by the Sanzaar judiciary after being red-carded in the team's win over the Bulls on Sunday morning.
He will miss Saturday's game against the Force in Perth.
Naholo pleaded guilty to a late shoulder charge, making contact with the head of Burger Odendaal in the 63rd minute.
The review committee deemed the charge met the red-card threshold for law 10.4(g) - ''dangerous charging or obstructing or grabbing of an opponent with or without the ball, including shouldering''.
It was determined the act merited a low-end entry point of two weeks.
Naholo's previous good record saw that cut in half, meaning he will miss just one game.
Tevita Li was expected to come into the picture to replace him.
Highlanders assistant coach Mark Hammett said the decision was what it was, although he was disappointed for Naholo.
While he suggested the ruling of a red card for contact with the head had not been consistently applied, the reasons behind the emphasis on avoiding the head were understood.
''We haven't seen that it's a consistent red straight away,'' Hammett said.
''But all [the] coaches, we acknowledge that it's an important area of the game that has to be taken out completely and that there's an element of care for the players around that area.
''Obviously it's an area everyone's looking at, particularly from a judicial perspective, and you've just got to be really careful if there's intent or no intent.''
Meanwhile, Bulls lock RG Snyman, who was shown a red card eight minutes after Naholo, was handed a four-week ban.
His came as a result of a shoulder charge into a ruck, making contact with Highlanders hooker Greg Pleasants-Tate's head.
Pleasants-Tate was cleared of concussion, although he picked up a neck strain from the contact.
While it was not expected to be a long-term injury, he would miss this weekend's game and had been replaced in the travelling squad by Guy Millar.