Shawlong has a long face, and black hair braided and usually hanging over his shoulder. What remains of his mask is on the top of his head, but a portion drops down covering part of his face. The eye holes in this mask are just slots in the mask. He wears typical arrancar clothes: a white jacket with black lining, a white hakama, and a black sash. He seems to be one of the few arrancar that actually zips his jacket most of the way up. As a result, the hole by which hollows are characterized, is not visible on Shawlong.

Shawlong is arrancar number 11, but this does not mean he is the 11th most powerful. Arrancar numbered 11 and above are numbered in the order of their birth, then the top 10 are removed, given numbers 1-10, and called Espada. Therefore, the true extent of his power is unknown, it is simply known that he is not one of the ten most powerful arrancar.

Shawlong is unique in the arrancar we have seen so far, as he seems to be highly intelligent. He acts in a manner that implies he is the next in command to Grimmjow, during their assault on the material world. He seems to have been a major influence on the idea to go to the material world in the first place, judging by statements made during Grimmjow's argument with Ulquiorra. He claimed that if someone is not worth killing, it is also meaningless to let them live; fueling Grimmjow's argument that Uliquiora should have just killed Ichigo Kurosaki.