[1] At an estimated 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 ft) in length, Smok was the largest carnivorous archosaur in central Europe in the time it was alive.

It was larger than any other known theropod dinosaur or pseudosuchian living in central Europe during either the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic.

Similarities with rauisuchians include a triangular antorbital fenestra and a connection between the ectopterygoid and jugal bones of the skull that is split into two projections.

The premaxilla and maxilla of the upper jaw attach closely to each other, making a continuous row of evenly spaced teeth.

The upper jaw bones of rauisuchians are not closely connected, leaving a small opening between the premaxilla and maxilla that is not seen in Smok.

It also has several features that link it with primitive archosauromorphs, including the presence of a postfrontal bone on the skull and a closed acetabulum in the hip.

When the discovery was first announced, it was called "the Dragon of Lisowice" and was purported to be the first member of a line of dinosaurs that led to Tyrannosaurus rex.

Other large predatory archosaurs included the dinosaur Liliensternus and the rauisuchids Polonosuchus and Teratosaurus, but these animals were much smaller than Smok.

Smok lived alongside small carnivorous dinosauromorph and poposauroid archosaurs and large herbivorous dicynodonts.

The variable mixture of bones, some belonging to fish, others to dicynodonts, and to temnospondyls indicates Smok was a generalized predator.