The Templo de los Guerreros was named is named after the sculpture of warriors on the pillars of the front and supporting columns.

The cornice of the upper temple which was built over an earlier temple is almost completely covered with motifs imported from central Mexico such as images of heart-eating eagles and jaguars. These images refer to the military elite to whom the Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars was dedicated. There are also images of Kukulcán as the Sun of Earth. Local Maya artists are believed to have hung masks of the god Chaac, the Maya rain god, which helps to distinguish this temple from others in the Yucatán. Inside the building there are many colorful paintings showing daily life during the Maya/Toltec period of Chichen Itza's history.