The body of monkfish is stubby, soft, scaleless, and slightly spindle-shaped. The front part is cylindrical and the rear part is flat on the sides. Generally, the body length is 40-60 cm and the weight is 300-800 grams. The head is large and flat, the snout is pointed and flat, there is a large bony bulge in the middle of the back of the snout, and the area between the eyes is wide and slightly concave. There are many cortical projections on the edges of the head and body.

The mouth is large and wide, located upward, with oblique clefts, sharp teeth, and black and white markings in the mouth. The lower jaw is slightly protruding and extends back to below the eyeball. There are 1 to 2 rows of canine teeth that can be lodging. There are villous sharp-toothed bands on the upper and lower jaws and vomer bones. The tongue is broad and long, with a rounded and free front edge. The eyes are medium-sized, located laterally, and are very convex. The upper edge is covered by the eyelids, and the upper orbital bone is raised as a bony ridge. There are two pairs of nostrils, the front nostril is slightly tubular; the posterior edge of the gill cover is spineless.

The pectoral fins are broad and arm-shaped; the pelvic fins are small, located on the chest and separated from each other; the trailing edge of the caudal fin is rounded. The first three spines of the dorsal fin are separated. The first spine is located on the back of the snout and has a skin flap (also called a cortical spike) at the top. There are some luminous bacteria in the flap, like a fishing rod hanging a light. The scales are medium-large, with scales on the head and gill covers and no lateral lines. There are two dorsal fins, not connected; the tail is cylindrical and short. The anal fin has 8 to 11 fins.

The back and sides of the body are dark brown or green or purple brown, and the abdomen is lighter. There are irregular brown-edged horizontal stripes on the side of the body; the first dorsal fin has 2 rows and the second dorsal fin has 6 rows of light yellow-green spots; the anal fin has 4 rows and the caudal fin has 6-7 rows of light green-brown spots; the posterior edge of the eye and its lower part There are 3 brown-green stripes behind the direction. During the reproductive period, a beautiful peacock green wedding dress appears on the body of the male fish, and white spots appear on the dorsal fin.