It is a large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are arranged alternately, 12–30 cm long, and are pinnate, with 9–17 leaflets, the leaflets 3–6 cm long, with a sharply serrated margin. The flowers are 2–3 cm in diameter, with five white petals, and are produced in erect panicles 10–20 cm long in mid spring. The fruit is an oval leathery capsule 5–6 cm diameter, which splits into three sections at maturity to release the 6–18 seeds; the seeds are black, 1.5 cm in diameter, resembling a small horse chestnut seed. The shells of the fruits and seeds are very hard, so that they are best protected during the growth process. Generally, X. sorbifolium only blooms white flowers. In the process of multiple crosses performed by the '西北文冠果基地/Northwest X. sorbifolium base' ("using 56 seeds of X.sorbifolium from all over the country to make them natural hybrids, in order to increase fruit yield"), unexpectedly, the flower color also changed from single to multiple.