The blue symbolises Azerbaijan's Turkic heritage, the red stands for progress, and the green represents Islam. The official colors and size were adopted on February 5, 1991. The flag is referred to in the Constitution and mentioned two times in the national anthem. On land, the flag is used as the civil, state and war flag; at sea, it is used as the civil, state, and naval ensign, as well as the naval jack. The flag also has official status in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The tricolour replaced an earlier design used by the Azerbaijan SSR. A presidential decree declared November 9 as the national Flag Day.