Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, wit, and wisdom."Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" is an oft-repeated Ravenclaw proverb.^[HP5][HP7] Its animal is the eagle rather than a raven; the house name is a reference to the eagle's black claws. The house colors are blue and bronze (blue and silver in the movies), and its ghost is the Grey Lady, who was revealed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Hogwarts co-founder Rowena Ravenclaw, after whom the house was named and whose diadem was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. According to Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air.

The dormitories are located in Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the school. The common room, which went undescribed in the series until the climax of Deathly Hallows, is round and filled with blue hangings and fat armchairs, has a domed ceiling painted with stars, and also features a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing her diadem. A logical riddle must be solved in order to gain entry, whereas the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms only require a password.

The current head of Ravenclaw house is Filius Flitwick.