Originally, Orochimaru was a tall man with extremely pale skin and waist-length black hair. He had a long face with pronounced cheekbones, golden eyes with slits in his pupils and purple markings around his eyes — a reference to his snake-like nature. Although he has taken on new bodies repeatedly, he has modified them each to resemble his original form, minus the height differences. He apparently used his Vanishing Facial Copy Technique on his original body so he can wear it over his hosts' faces as a mask. Orochimaru is sometimes seen sporting different attires. He usually wears plain grey garbs with black pants and a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back and bluetomoe-shaped earrings. He is seen wearing a black polo neck under it. As a young child, he wore long white robes with purple lining embroidered with black or yellow tomoe markings, tied with a purple ribbon forming a bow in the front, as well as white leggings and black open-toed shoes, and mesh top with a purple lining under it. In various flashbacks, he is also seen wearing the Oto ninja uniform and forehead protector, as well as the Konoha ninja uniform. During his time in Konoha, his casual wear usually consisted of a dark kimono shirt with violet lining over a mesh shirt, bandages that he uses as a sash, dark pants, and armour around his hips. On his left hand, he has an intricate tattoo that he uses to summon snakes. On one occasion, in which he proposed the request for Tsunade to heal his arms, he was seen wearing long purple robes with a loose pink vest, as well as a off-grey kimono with a polo neck in Zaku's flashback. On few occasions, for instance in Kimimaro's childhood flashbacks, Orochimaru is also seen wearing a pale yellowish furisode-style kimono, with a black polo neck underneath tied with a dark brown sash, and flat dark-coloured zōri sandals.

 

  During his time with the Akatsuki, he wore the standard red and black Akatsuki robes. Orochimaru wore his slate blue Akatsuki ring, which bears the kanji for "sky" or "void" (空, kū), on his left little finger. In his room, he is sometimes seen wearing a mahogany shirt with a design of two white snakes on the back of the sleeves to the back on both sides, as well as black pants.After countless experiments with his body, his true form became a giant snake ("The Great White Serpent") made up of a multitude of smaller snakes, with long and spiky black hair, a scaled face with snake-like teeth and a long tongue, black eye markings, and a pointed chin.After being resurrected by Sasuke, Orochimaru has returned to his taller and seemingly original height before taking Gen'yūmaru's body. He also donned a black cloak and hood somewhere between his rebirth and arriving to Konoha.