Quercus hartwissiana is a large deciduous tree, reaching heights of 35 metres (115 feet),[1] with umbrella-shaped crown and ascending branches.

[1][4] The buds are broad, oval or almost round, 6 to 7 millimetres (1⁄4 to 9⁄32 inch) long, with short burnished scales.

[5] The specific epithet hartwissiana is in honour of Russian botanist Nicolai Anders von Hartwiss.

Quercus hartwissiana is found in the Euxine–Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion, in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome along the Black Sea from the south-easternmost parts of the Balkan Peninsula along northern Asia Minor to western Caucasus.

Quercus hartwissiana prefers warm and humid climate and grows on fresh to moist soil from the lowland to an altitude of 1,200 to 1,500 m (3,900 to 4,900 ft).