[10] The specific epithet atra comes from the Latin term ater, which means "dark", "black", or "gloomy".

[10] In Mandarin Chinese, the snake is known as Zhōnghuá yǎnjìngshé (simplified: 中华眼镜蛇, traditional: 中華眼鏡蛇, lit.

[6] The Chinese cobra is iridescent black with a number of distant transversal double lines of a yellow colour.

[8] The dorsal color of the Chinese cobra is usually brown, grey or black,[6] with or without narrow, light transverse lines at irregular intervals which are especially prominent in juveniles.

[5][7][10] Like other elapids, this is a proteroglyphous snake with fangs that are permanently erect and are located at the anterior of the upper jaw.

But it can be easily distinguished by virtue of having lower ventral and subcaudal scale counts, particularly when sex is taken into account.

[6] This species is found in southeastern China (including the provinces of Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Hong Kong and the Island province of Hainan and Taiwan), northern Laos, northern Vietnam, where it is much more common in the south.

Necrosis is a serious problem in cases of cobra bite as it may persist for many years after the general recovery of the victim.