Napoleon was 5 feet 6 inches tall, average height at the time. In his early years he was quite lean and only after 1806 did he become heavy. In his younger years he was often described as sickly in appearance, his skin having a yellowish pallor. He had fine white teeth, which he was proud. His nose was slightly curved, with a "sharp and delicate modelling, [but] was less prominent than one is inclined to suppose from the evidence of his portraits." His eyes, deep-set, were reportedly gray or gray-blue.

The confusion and misrepresentation of Napoleon's height can be attributed to a combination of the following:

Napoleon's height was stated to be 5'2 inches. The inches were French rather than British. When converted, it would have been equivalent to 5 feet and 7 British inches which is a respectable height.

Napoleon surrounded himself with tall bodyguards and had a nickname of le petit caporal. Non-Francophones mistakenly interpreted petit by its literal meaning of "small". In fact, it was an affectionate term that reflected his reported camaraderie with his soldiers rather than his height.

British propaganda, especially the caricatures by James Gillray built upon this by portraying Napoleon as short and temperamental, and the British as tall and clever.