The Chinese cobra is a large anterior groove-toothed venomous snake. When disturbed, it often erects the front half of the body, the neck is flat and expanded, in an attacking stance, and the double-circle glasses-shaped markings are exposed on the nape of the neck.

The back of the Chinese cobra is black or dark brown, with spectacle-like markings (double circles or Variety of ornamentation), with fine white rings all over the body, especially in young individuals, and indistinct in older individuals. The adult snake Chinese cobra is 1.5 to 2 meters long.