Scutellastra cochlear has a distinctive pear-shaped shell. It is a slow-growing species and may live for 25 years, attaining a length of 70 millimetres (2.8 in).

The outer surface is often encrusted with coralline algae. The inner surface is white with a bluish tinge, sometimes speckled with black patches, and with a black, U-shaped muscle scar.