The flag is a combination of the Pan-Arab colors of black, green, white, and red, and the Islamic symbol of the star and crescent.

The flag is a tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes (black, white, and green from top to bottom) overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist.

The star and crescent are considered symbols of Islam, and can be seen on flags of other neighboring Muslim-majority countries such as Algeria and Mauritania.

Like other demarcations of Spain, such as Cantabria, which created their symbols taking as references the flags of their maritime provinces, the Saharawi National Union Party created its flag based on that of the Maritime Province of Villa Cisneros, until its entry into the Polisario Front in a meeting held on October 12, 1975, with the leadership of said movement.

The Polisario Front rejected this and declared in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as the state representing an "independent" Western Sahara.