It was established by Royal Decree on 11 February 1885 and is awarded to commissioned officers in the Belgian Armed Forces for loyal and uninterrupted service or to Non-Belgian military officers for distinguished service in favor of the Military of Belgium.

No such 'bonifications' may be applied when calculating the time served, required for the award of the Military Cross.

Officers of the military reserve can also be awarded this decoration, on the condition that they are part of the trained (active) reserve forces and that their time served wasn't honored by the award of the Civic Decoration.

The Military Cross may be awarded to Commissioned Officers of non-Belgian armed forces for distinguished service towards the Belgian Defence.

The obverse central medallion bears the Belgian "lion rampant", pre 1952, the reverse medallion bore the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, post 1952, the reverse is identical to the obverse.