The Iowa state flag is a vertical tricolor of blue, white, and red, similar to the flag of France and reflecting Iowa's history as part of the French Louisiana Territory. (Because of the wider middle stripe and symmetric design, the design is sometimes classified as a "Canadian pale" with similar dimensions to the Canadian flag.) The image of a bald eagle with a long ribbon reading "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain", derived from the Seal of Iowa, is centered in the middle white stripe. The flag was adopted in 1921.

In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Iowa's flag 42nd in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territorial flags ranked.