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The small Imperial-Royal coat of arms of the Austrian Empire consisted of the coat of arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine surrounded by the collar of the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece and borne on the breast of a black double-headed Imperial eagle. The eagle held a sword and sceptre in its dexter (left from the viewer's perspective) talon and a globus cruciger in its sinister (right from the viewer's perspective) talon. On both its heads it wore a royal crown and above it was placed the Imperial Crown of Austria. Some versions of the small arms also featured the the collars of the Order of Leopold, the Order of St. Stephen and the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

The middle coat of arms also added the coats of arms of the various crown lands topped with their respective crowns/coronets, which were placed around the main escutcheon/collars. The middle arms featured all of the order collars.

After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the Imperial-Royal became the common (Imperial and Royal) arms of Austria-Hungary.

Escutcheon
The escutcheon of the coat of arms is that of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, who ruled the Austrian Empire throughout its existence.

Coat of arms of the Habsburgs
The dexter potion of the shield (viewer's left) bears the traditional coat of arms of the House of Habsburg: a red rampant lion with a blue tongue, claws and crown on a gold/yellow field (or, a lion rampant gules armed, langued and crowned azure). These arms were originally used by the Counts of Habsburg but were later abandoned by the Habsburgs in favour of the Austrian Bindenschild until the formation of the Empire.

Coat of arms of Austria
The Bindenschild, a red-white-red horizontal triband (blazoned Gules a fess Argent), has been a national symbol of Austria since the middle ages. It was first introduced as the coat of arms of the Duchy of Austria under the Babenberg dukes in the 12th century, and was retained under the later Habsburg dukes and Archdukes. Its use continues to this day as both the flag of Austria and as part of the coat of arms of Austria.

Coat of arms of Lorraine
The Coat of arms of Lorraine (or Lothringen in German) (or a bend gules three alerions argent) is a yellow/gold shield with a red diagonal band going from top-left to bottom-right (from the viewer's perspective; heraldicly dexter chief to sinister base), which is charged with three white mythical beak-less leg-less birds known as alerions or avalerions. "Alerion" is a near-anagram of Lorraine; their use arms is similar to canting arms.

It was originally the coat of arms of the Duchy of (Upper) Lorraine (Herzogtum Oberlothringen) and later became the arms of the ruling House of Lorraine, one of the ancestral houses of Habsburg-Lorraine; Lorraine itself was never part of the Habsburg Monarchy or Austrian Empire.

The arms continued to be used to represent the duchy after it became a province of France, and later to represent the French administrative region of Lorraine (which was merged with several others to form Grand Est in 2016). It was also used in the arms of the Alsace-Lorraine territory of the German Empire, and can be found today in the Coat of arms of Saarland (which contains parts of the former duchy) and several of its sub-divisions (including the municipalities of Freisen, Oberthal, Sitterswald and Überherrn, and the Landkreise (districts) of Merzig-Wadern and Saarlouis; alerions also appear in several others).

Imperial eagle
The eagle is, along with the lion, one of the most common heraldic charges in European heraldry. It has long been a symbol of Imperial authority, tracing back to the Roman Aquila, and it is common for Empires to adopt the symbols of their predecessors as symbols of power and legitimacy. The Holy Roman Empire, which saw itself as the successor to (West) Rome adopted a black eagle on a gold/yellow shield (usually with red talons and beak; or, an eagle sable beaked and taloned gules) as its symbol, which became known as the Reichsadler (typically translated as "Imperial eagle", but see Reich). Over time this evolved into a double-headed eagle, with early depictions including the mid-13th century arms of Emperor Otto IV. This was cemented following the coronation of Emperor Sigismund in 1433; from then on, the single-headed eagle became the symbol of the King of the Germans (Emperor elect). This mirrored the development of the double-headed eagle in the Byzantine Empire, which may have appeared as early as the 11th century but did not see widespread use until later. (See Byzantine flags and insignia.) The Byzantine eagle also gave rise to the double-headed eagles of Russia, Serbia, Albania and Montenegro.

The title of Holy Roman Emperor was nominally elective, but after the accession of Frederick III in 1440 all Holy Roman Emperors until the 18th century were Habsburg Archdukes of Austria. Also at this time it became the norm for emperors to bear their personal achievement as an inescutcheon on the Reichsadler.

Over time the Habsburgs gained control of large swathes of territory, including, but not limited to, Bohemia, Hungary, the Austrian Netherlands, the Duchy of Milan and large parts of Poland, which collectively became known as the Habsburg Monarchy. However, as their direct domains increased, their imperial authority weakened, particularly following the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This, and the Habsburg domination of the imperial title, led to the Reichsadler becoming increasingly associated with them and their directly-held lands.

In 1740 the last Habsburg Emperor Charles VI died without a male heir. This led to the War of the Austrian Succession, during which time Charles VII of the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty briefly (1742–45) became emperor, the first non-Habsburg to do so for just over three hundred years. The war ended with Maria Theresa, Charles VI's daughter, retaining control of Austria, while her husband Francis of the house of Lorraine became emperor; their children became the first members of the house of Habsburg-Lorraine, who would rule the Habsburg Monarchy and the Holy Roman Empire from then on.

In the late 18th century the French Revolutionary Wars severely weakened the Holy Roman Empire, with the French taking all imperial territory on the Left Bank of the Rhine, including the Austrian Netherlands. In May 1804 the French senate named First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte Emperor of the French, establishing the First French Empire. Fearing that Napoleon would either seize his Imperial title or destroy it, Emperor Francis II established the Austrian Empire out of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy.

The increased association of the Reichsadler with the Habsburg(-Lorraine)s had led to it being used by them for their hereditary lands. As such when founding his new empire, Francis II, now also Francis I of Austria, used the Imperial eagle as his emblem.

The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806 following Austria's defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz.

By Germany
The Holy Roman Reichsadler was resurrected twice by other successors to the Holy Roman Empire. The first was the short-lived German Empire of 1848 which restored the double-headed black eagle on gold as its symbol (albeit without haloes). When the German Confederation was restored in 1850, it also adopted this coat of arms until it collapsed in 1866.

The second was the much longer-lived German Empire of 1871, which united the so-called Lesser Germany (i.e. most of the states of the former Holy Roman Empire not under Austrian rule; exceptions include Liechtenstein and the Low Countries) into a single federal monarchy under the King of Prussia (thereafter also German Emperor). This empire used a single-headed eagle, symbolising its "lesser-German" status. After its fall in 1918, all successive German states except for the German Democratic Republic use(d) some form of this single-headed eagle. All these states referred to the symbol as the Reichsadler (although not necessarily with an imperial connotation; see Reich), except for the Federal Republic of Germany (modern Germany; West Germany before 1990), which refers to it as the Bundesadler or "Federal Eagle".

By other (former) imperial states
The Reichsadler was throughout the history of the Empire granted to various states. The single-headed version was granted to the State of the Teutonic Order in 1229, which was later adopted by its successors the Duchy, Kingdom and Free State of Prussia, as well as by the Polish-held Royal Prussia. (See coat of arms of Prussia.)

The states of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen also incorporated an inescutcheon of the imperial eagle into their coats of arms until they were abolished in 1918.

Cities
The Free City of Lübeck has used the imperial eagle since the 14th century, with its current form (the imperial eagle with an inescutcheon bearing the colours of the Hanseatic league) appearing around 1450. (See coat of arms of Lübeck.) Donauwörth also uses the double-headed eagle (complete with haloes and imperial crown) with an inescutcheon bearing a "W"; Friedberg uses the double-headed eagle with a white and black (party per pale) inescutcheon. Several other former Free Cities also use single-headed forms of the Reichsadler: Aachen, Dortmund, Goslar, Pfullendorf and Zell am Harmersbach all use it unadorned; Nordhausen and Nördlingen use crowned versions; Rottweil uses a version defaced with a Christian cross; Bad Wimpfen's version holds a key in its beak; Aalen, Bopfingen, Esslingen am Neckar, Heilbronn, Reutlingen and Überlingen all use versions with inescutcheons; Kaufbeuren, Memmingen and Nuremberg all use versions dimidiated with another field; Mühlhausen's and Weil der Stadt's arms have a single-headed eagle in chief.

The Austrian city of Krems an der Donau uses an "inverted" version of the double-headed eagle (i.e. a gold eagle on black) with a "floating" imperial crown above it. These arms originate in Vienna, but were transferred to Krems in 1463 during the Austrian succession war (Vienna had fallen).

Crowns
Above the eagle's heads is placed the Imperial Crown of Austria. This crown was made in 1602 as the personal crown of the Habsburg Emperors, as distinct from the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1804 it became the official crown of the newly founded Austrian Empire.

The crown is not attached to the eagle, but rather "floats" above it. It also features a pair of lappets emanating from its base which spread out behind the eagle's heads.

Such "floating" crowns are common among eagle-supported arms, including some forms of the Reichsadler, and in the arms of the Byzantine Empire, the German Empire, both modern and Imperial Russia and Montenegro; many of these also feature lappets. Such "floating" crowns sometimes form part of the crest when the eagle is displayed on a shield, as is the case for the Austrian arms (without the lappets).

In addition to this "floating" crown, each of the eagle's heads bears a (non-specific) royal crown.

Other regalia
The eagle holds in its talons the imperial sceptre, orb (globus cruciger) and sword, all parts of the Austrian Crown Jewels. Sceptres and globus crucigers are common elements of European crown jewels as they are symbols of imperial (or royal) authority, sovereignty, and power. Like the crown, the imperial sceptre and orb were formerly the personal sceptre and orb of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors, and distinct from those in the official Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire; they became the official Austrian Imperial regalia in 1804.

It is not uncommon for displayed eagles to hold symbols of office and all three pieces are commonly found held by them in European heraldry. The coats of arms of both modern and Imperial Russia, Montenegro and the Kingdom of Prussia all feature a sceptre in dexter and a globus cruciger in sinister (both Russia's and Montenegro's eagles are also double-headed); the double-headed eagle on the Flag of the Greek Orthodox Church holds a sword (dexter) and a globus cruciger (sinister); the eagle on the coat of arms of Romania holds a sword (dexter) and a sceptre (sinister); the eagle on the coat of arms of Moldova holds a sceptre in sinister (in dexter is a sprig of laurel).

This usage tends to be restricted to birds, usually eagles (most other charges are not commonly shown front-on/affronté). However, the crest used in the former Royal Arms of Scotland, the Royal arms of the UK as used within Scotland, and the coat of arms of the Duke of Rothsay features a lion sejant affronté bearing the Honours of Scotland: a sword in dexter and a sceptre in sinister; the crest of Castile and León similarly featured a lion sejant affronté holding a sword in dexter and a globus cruciger in sinister.

Swords are somewhat more common among other charges, such as those held by the lions on the coats of arms of Finland and the Netherlands; and in the Lion and Sun, the traditional emblem of Iran.

Francis II and I (1804–06)
When Francis founded the Austrian Empire in 1804 he assumed the double-headed imperial eagle as its symbol. As he was still Holy Roman Emperor he also bore its coat of arms, and as such his personal arms included both. During this period the arms of Austria took the form of a golden shield charged with a doubly-crowned double-headed eagle holding a sword in dexter and a globus cruiciger in sinister, and with the Austrian Bindenschild as an inescutcheon (much like the 1915 Cisleithanian small arms). In his personal small and middle arms the shield was topped with the Habsburg hereditary crown (now the Imperial crown of Austria). It was borne on the breast of the Holy Roman Reichsadler, which held the sword, sceptre and globus cruiciger as in the later arms. Above the Reichsadler was placed the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire; the Reichsadler's heads bore haloes, as was standard. As with the later arms the escutcheon was surrounded by the order collars.

His middle arms added around the escutcheon and collars several smaller escutcheons of the Austrian crown lands (dexter: Hungary, Galicia and Lodomeria, Venetia, Transylvania, Moravia and Austrian Silesia (impaled); sinister: Bohemia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria and Carinthia (impaled, for Inner Austria), Tyrol and Swabia (impaled; for Further Austria)), which were themselves appropriately crowned (e.g. the Crown of St. Wenceslas for Bohemia, the Archducal bonnet for Lower Austria, the Corno Ducale for Venetia). This style mimicked the Holy Roman Empire's Quaternion Eagle and was also used by other states, e.g. in some versions of the Russian Imperial arms.

His greater arms placed the Reichsadler (haloed and holding the regalia) on a golden shield, crowned with the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Francis's full achievement was added as an inescutcheon, crowned with the Imperial Crown of Austria and surrounded by the order collars. The golden shield featuring the Austrian imperial eagle (as on the small and middle arms) became a second-level inescutcheon (and therefore the Bindenschild a third-level one). The shield used two sable/or griffins as supporters.

After 1806
In 1806, following defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz, Francis abdicated the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolving it. This lead to the adoption of a new coat of arms. This version was very much like the final arms (shield of Habsburg-Lorraine, crowned Imperial eagle etc) but featured a Cross of the Teutonic Order behind the escutcheon.

The middle arms during this period featured different escutcheons (dexter: Hungary, Galicia and Lodomeria, Salzburg, Transylvania, Moravia/Austrian Silesia; sinister: Bohemia, Lower Austria, Krakau, Würzburg/Franconia, Styria, Carinthia). It too featured the Cross of the Teutonic Order.

The greater arms featured the Austrian Imperial eagle (with regalia) on a golden shield, with the Emperor's full achievement as an inescutcheon surrounded by the order collars; the Habsburg-Lorraine arms were a second-level inescutcheon. The (main) shield was crowned with the Imperial crown of Austria and supported by two griffins. This form of greater arms would continue until the end of the Empire.

In 1815 the Cross of the Teutonic Order was removed from the small and middle arms. Over the course of its existence the middle and greater arms changed to reflect territorial changes in the Empire, e.g. gaining Lombardy–Venetia in 1815 and losing it again in 1856 (Lombardy) and 1866 (Venetia).

Use in Austria-Hungary
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the Austrian Empire was transformed into Austria-Hungary. The former Imperial-Royal arms became the common (Imperial and Royal) arms of the new state. They remained in place until 1915.

In 1915 the former arms were replaced. The small arms of Cisleithania became the Austrian Bindenschild (gules, a fess argent) supported by the imperial eagle; the regalia remained the same as the former arms but the order collar was excluded. The medium arms placed the imperial eagle (with regalia apart from the Imperial Crown) on a golden shield and added the full achievement of Cisleithania as an inescutcheon; the golden shield was supported by two griffins segreant and the Imperial Crown was used as a crest.

The 1915 common arms placed the Cisleithanian arms alongside those of Transleithania and placed a smaller crowned escutcheon bearing the arms of Habsburg-Lorraine between and above them; the smaller escutcheon was surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. On the small common arms the imperial eagle was placed on a golden shield and the Imperial Crown moved to the shield's crest as on the Cisleithanian medium arms. The medium common arms were supported by a griffin on the Cisleithanian (dexter) side and an angel on the Transleithanian (sinister) side. (Angels were also used as the supporters on the Transleithanian medium arms.) Both common arms also added the motto indivisibiliter ac inseparabiliter (indivisible and inseparable).

Coats of arms of the Crown Lands
The various crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy and Austrian Empire had their own coats of arms, many of which also used the Imperial eagle and regalia.

The Austrian Netherlands was a collection of territories in the Southern Netherlands, what is now Belgium and Luxembourg. They were part of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1714 until they were occupied by France during the French Revolutionary Wars. (They were officially ceded to France in the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio.) Their arms are an example of the use of the Holy Roman Reichsadler by the Austrians prior to the establishment of the Austrian Empire. It differs from the Austrian Empire's coat in that it uses a different escutcheon (tierced per pale: in first gules, a fess argent (Austria); in second or a bend gules three alerions argent (Lorraine); in third bendy of six or and azure (Burgundy)) and is backed by the Cross of Burgundy. (The Austrian Netherlands have their origins in the Burgundian Netherlands before becoming the Habsburg and then Spanish Netherlands, and as such have a strong connection with that particular symbol.) Also, as they were used pre-Austrian Empire the heads of the eagle bore haloes rather than crowns as was typical of the Holy Roman Reichsadler.

The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was established following the Napoleonic wars by the 1815 Congress of Vienna in recognition of the Austrians' claims to the territories of the former Republic of Venice (see Venetian Province) and the Duchy of Milan. Its escutcheon featured a quartering of the Milanese Biscione and the Venetian Lion of Saint Mark, over which was placed an inescutcheon of the Habsburg-Lorraine arms. The escutcheon was topped with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The escutcheon used the same Imperial eagle supporter, regalia and order collar as the Imperial-Royal arms.

Flags
The flag used by the Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Empire and Cisleithania derived originally from the main colours of the Holy Roman Reichsadler: sable (black) and or (gold/yellow); its continued use by the Austrian Empire and Cisleithania mirrored the continued use of the imperial eagle.