An evergreen, coniferous tree growing to 90 feet tall, Manchurian fir is closely related to Korean fir (Abies koreana). With a trunk up to 4 feet in diameter and a narrow conic to columnar crown, the bark is grey-brown, smooth on young trees, and becomes fissured as the tree ages. Leaves are flat, needle-like, 10-30 mm long and 1.5-2 mm broad and green above, with two dull greenish-white stomatal bands below. They are spirally arranged, but twisted at the base to lie flattened on either side of and forwards across the top of the shoots. The cones are 4.5-7 cm (rarely to 9.5 cm) long and 2-3 cm broad, green or purplish ripening grey-brown, and often very resinous. The tips of the bract scales are slightly exserted between the seed scales. Each seed scale bears two winged seeds, released when the cones disintegrate at maturity in the autumn.

It is prone to adelgids, bark beetles, bagworms, woolly aphids, and spruce budgworms. A variety of fungi can cause needle blights and root rots. Rust diseases are especially common.