The face is short and broad. The ears are short, furred, erect, and rounded or pointed. Each limb bears five digits, the third being the longest. The claws are short, compressed, recurved, and, in some genera, semiretractile. The soles are haired in several genera.
Males have a baculum.
The incisors are not specialized, the canines are elongate, the premolars are small and sharp, and the molars are broad and low-crowned. The carnassials are developed only in Bassariscus. Procyonids walk on the sole of the foot, with the heel touching the ground, or partly on the sole and partly on the digits. The gait is usually bearlike. Most procyonids shelter in hollow trees, on large branches, or in rock crevices.