The class comprised three ships, Princesa de Asturias, Cataluña and Cardenal Cisneros.

With construction beginning on the lead ship of the class in 1890, it was considered to be essentially a repeat of the three Infanta Maria Teresa-class cruisers but with more modern and balanced armament.

The ships were equipped with two-shaft reciprocating engines, which were rated at 14,800 ihp (11,000 kW) and produced a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

However, as these ships were fundamentally modernized Infanta Maria Teresa-class cruisers, the armour coverage was not comprehensive, and thus the ships were poorly armoured by standards of the day.

[1] The main armament of the ships were two 9.4 in (24 cm) single turret guns.