His image as a one-eyed warrior was popularized by the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which he yanked the arrow out of his eye and devoured his eyeball, an event that has become a symbol of his determination and resilience.

Xiahou Dun was from Qiao County (譙縣), Pei State (沛國), which is on present-day Bozhou, Anhui.

He was a descendant of Xiahou Ying, who served under the Han dynasty's founding emperor, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and though the family didn't reach national prominence in the centuries since, they were a leading family in Pei, often intermarrying down the generations with other prominent local clans the Dings and the Caos.

[7] Xiahou Dun was sent to garrison Boma (白馬; near present-day Hua County, Henan), later promoted to Colonel Who Breaks and Charges (折衝校尉) and as Cao Cao became Governor of Yan in 192, succeeded him as the Administrator (太守) of Dong Commandery (東郡; the areas around present-day Puyang, Henan and Liaocheng, Shandong).

[9] While Cao Cao was away in Xu Province, his subordinates Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled in Yan Province and invited the warlord Lü Bu to take Yan but Zhang Miao's attempt to reassure Xun Yu of Lü Bu's intent instead tipped off Xun Yu of the revolt, so Xun Yu wrote to Xiahou Dun for reinforcements[10] to Juancheng County.

Xiahou Dun led a lightly armed force towards Juancheng, but he encountered Lü Bu's army on the way and engaged the enemy in battle.

Lü Bu later sent his men to pretend to surrender to Xiahou Dun, who fell for the ruse and was taken hostage by the enemy in his own camp.

[11] Xiahou Dun's personally recruited subordinate Han Hao[12] settled the troops then ordered an attack on the surprised hostage takers, who surrendered.

Xiahou Dun participated in the campaign against Lü Bu and was hit in the left eye by a stray arrow during a skirmish.

Xiahou Dun was appointed as the Administrator (太守) of Chenliu (陳留; around present-day Kaifeng, Henan) commandery, the area once under Zhang Miao's control, where had a falling out with his Reporting Officer Wei Zhen around 200.

[20] Then to Jiyin (濟陰; near present-day Dingtao County, Shandong) commandery, and held the rank of General Who Builds Martial Might (建武將軍).

He personally participated in the construction works and also encouraged the people to grow crops in the inundated land.

[25] After the Battle of Ye in 204, Xiahou Dun was promoted to General Who Calms the Waves (伏波將軍) but retained his appointment as the Intendant of Henan with the freedom to act on his own initiative without being restricted by regulations.

In 205, Gao Gan encouraged revolts in Hedong with Wei Gu holding the Shan crossing and local loyal forces unable to cross, Xiahou Dun was sent but before he could arrive, Du Ji persuaded Xiahou Dun to let him go across with a small escort and plot with the local loyalists.

[26] On 21 March 207, as Cao Cao prepared to attack the remnants of the Yuan family, he rewarded 20 of his officers with greater enoffments[7] with Xiahou Dun granted an additional 1,800 taxable households in his marquisate in recognition of his contributions, bringing the total number of households to 2,500.

[36] He died less than two months later on 13 June[37] with Cao Pi leading the mourning ceremony at Ye's east gate.

[39] The historian Sun Sheng dismissed the Shiyu account as nonsense, saying that it did not match what was recorded in the main text of Xiahou Dun's biography in the Sanguozhi – Xiahou Dun felt ashamed of serving under the Han imperial court so he requested to serve in Cao Cao's vassal kingdom.

[41] Cao Rui on 7 June 233 started sacrifices at the Ancestral Temple to a few select figures who had helped create a dynasty; Xiahou Dun was one of the three.

[48] In Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language, published in the 13th century, as part of a series of historical fiction,[49] he serves as a brave warrior who is prone to being lured into fake retreat duels.

Dismounting, Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow with the famous line, held the eye in his mouth and returns to fighting an astonished Lü Bu, who is forced to retreat.

In Zhuge Liang's first northern campaign, Xiahou Dun held the key pass at Jieting and heard Jiang Wei had placed his camp in a dangerous position.

At Chang'an, he informed Emperor Cao Fang, who would then appoint Sima Yi to oppose Zhuge Liang.

See the following for some fictitious stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms involving Xiahou Dun: In Chinese plays called zaju, Xiahou Dun is often assigned the role of the clown to be defeated by Shu heroes, be it Zhuge Liang at Bowang or being shown up by Guan Yu at Boma.

[50][51] In the 15th century play by Ming Prince Zhu Youdun called Guan Yunchangs's (Guan Yu's style name) Righteous and Brave Refusal of Gold, Xiahou Dun's introduction is boasting he has never been victorious, scared when facing fortifications, he fears the blade and runs from arrows.

[citation needed] The anime Battle Vixens, Koihime Musō, and Yuyushiki also make references to Xiahou Dun, in which he is known by his Japanese name "Kakōton".