The blazon, or formal heraldic description, is azure, with three crowned golden leopards' heads affrontés caboshed Or, langued in gules.

The symbol of the leopard/lion heads is probably of Byzantine origin, and was used by the Hungarian kings and queens of the Árpád dynasty from the time of Béla III of Hungary (1172–1196; on coins Frizatik and Banovac, seal), until king Sigismund (1387–1437), but most prominently by those Hungarians who held the title of the Duke of Slavonia, which CoA would become state CoA of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia.

[1] Another second half of the 13th century depictions of the coat of arms is from the Armorial Wijnbergen in which is described as "le Roi dezclauonie",[1] and from Lord Marshals' Roll[3] from the year 1295 showing three silver heads on blue shield with description "Le Roy de Esclevoni" (the King of the Slavs i.e. Croats; the Hungarian kings and dukes, as well as foreign sources, used the term "totius Sclavonie" in the meaning of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia, see title Duke of Slavonia).

[1][4]A more modern version of the CoA, with three golden crowned lions on blue shield, first appeared in 14th century Gelre Armorial (pre-1396) representing Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (Regnum Croatiae et Dalmatiae) as part of the coat of arms of King Louis I (1342-1382).

The reason for this lies in the fact that in the Middle Ages leopards were thought to be a crossbreed between a lion and a pard.