The medal is pentangular in shape, with curved sides made of standard silver. The mounting shall is a fixed ring attached to a metal stripe 3mm wide ornamented with Ashoka leaves. It has embossed on its obverse the Naval Crest. On its reverse, it has a trident within a circle and rope and the inscription "Nau Sena Medal", in Hindi, embossed along the upper rim.
The riband is navy blue colour with a white thin silver stripe down the centre. 32 mm, dark blue with a 2 mm white central strips. Dark blue 15 mm, white 2 mm, dark blue 15 mm.[4]