The body of Spanish mackerel is elongated, generally 25 to 50 cm long, weighing 300 to 1000 grams, and can reach up to about one meter in length, weighing more than 4.5 kg. The body is silvery gray with dark horizontal stripes, and there are 7-8 gray spots under the ribs; the snout is pointed, the mouth is large and oblique, the teeth are slanted and sharp like blades, and there is a row of teeth on the upper and lower jaws; the scales are small or degenerate; there are two dorsal fins, and the second dorsal fin and the back of the anal fin each have 7-9 finlets.

Large mackerel has accumulated a lot of fat, making it plump and tasty. Because of the rich subcutaneous fat, the fish skin is grilled first when making sushi sashimi to highlight the aroma of the fat.