It is a large-size bird of prey, with a body length of 80 centimeters. The whole body is mostly black and tan. The head and neck are tan, and the scapular is mixed with white feather. The primary remiges is pale gray, the sublevel remiges is brown, and the rectrices is taupe, with seven or eight anomalous strips of black transverse spots, which have white narrow brim in the front tip. The lower portion of the body is black and tan.

Imperial Eagle inhabits in hilly broadleaf forests or mixed broadleaf-conifer forests of upland, and feeds on mini-type animals.

In China, it is mainly distributed in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and hibernates in Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan provinces, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Imperial Eagle has been listed in Appendix I of International Trade Convention on Endangered Wild Animal and Plant Species.