Deidara is a missing-nin from Iwagakure, the Hidden Rock Village, and a former member of the village's Explosion Corps. He later becomes a part of the criminal organization Akatsuki, where he is known for his S-rank level of power and his unique artistic philosophy centered on explosive destruction. Physically, he has long blond hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes, and a slender build. His most unusual features are the mouths on the palms of his hands and an additional, larger mouth sealed on the left side of his chest, all of which are essential to his combat abilities.

Deidara's background is rooted in his rebellion against his home village. He was a prodigy who sought to obtain a forbidden technique that allowed one to knead chakra into substances. After stealing this kinjutsu, he fled Iwagakure, using his new explosive clay to eliminate his pursuers. He then became a terrorist bomber for hire, working with insurgents in various countries. This drew the attention of the Akatsuki, who sought to recruit him. Itachi Uchiha, along with Kisame Hoshigaki and Sasori, confronted Deidara. When he refused to join, Itachi challenged him to a fight. Deidara was easily defeated by Itachi’s Sharingan genjutsu, which forced him into the organization and planted a deep, murderous grudge against Itachi and the Sharingan that would define the rest of his life.

Deidara’s personality is defined by his explosive temper, arrogance, and a fanatical devotion to his personal definition of art. He is short-tempered and prone to overreacting, especially when his art is insulted. He believes that true art is a fleeting, ephemeral thing—a single, brilliant moment of creation that occurs at the instant of an explosion. His signature catchphrase, "Art is an explosion!" (芸術は爆発だ, Geijutsu wa Bakuhatsu da), encapsulates this belief. He often ends his sentences with a verbal tic, a nasal "un" (often translated as "yeah" or "hm"), and shouts "Katsu!" (喝, "Detonate!") to set off his clay creations. Despite his volatile nature, he is highly intelligent and a cunning tactical thinker, capable of remaining calm and devising complex plans even after sustaining severe injuries like losing an arm.

His primary motivation is to prove the supremacy of his own explosive art, particularly against the Sharingan, which he despises as unartistic. His defeat at Itachi’s hands became an obsession; he trained his left eye specifically to counter genjutsu and developed his most powerful techniques, such as the C4 Karura, for the sole purpose of killing Itachi and demonstrating that his art could overcome the Uchiha clan’s visual prowess. This obsession later transfers to Itachi’s younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

In the story, Deidara plays a significant role as a primary antagonist. He is the first Akatsuki member shown capturing a jinchuriki, successfully defeating the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, and extracting the One-Tailed Shukaku from him. This event sets the plot of the early "Naruto Shippūden" series in motion. Later, he clashes with Team 7 and Team Guy before escaping. Upon learning of Orochimaru’s death at Sasuke’s hands, Deidara, angered that someone else killed his target, sets out to fight and kill Sasuke. This leads to his final battle, where his inability to defeat Sasuke’s Sharingan and his pride drive him to commit suicide with his ultimate C0 self-destruction technique in a failed attempt to prove his art's absoluteness.

Deidara’s key relationships reveal different facets of his character. His first partner in Akatsuki is Sasori, whom he respects as a fellow artist, addressing him as "Master Sasori" (Sasori no Danna). Despite this respect, they constantly argue about the nature of art, with Sasori championing eternal beauty in his puppets while Deidara champions the fleeting moment of explosion. After Sasori’s death, he is partnered with Tobi, a goofy and carefree novice who constantly irritates Deidara with his chatter and clumsiness, often getting blown up as a result. Despite the comedic irritation, Deidara shows a protective side toward Tobi, warning him to stay back during dangerous attacks and even apologizing to him in his thoughts before his final self-destruction, indicating a genuine if grudging care for his apprentice-like partner.

Deidara's development is tragically circular. He begins as a proud artist who steals to achieve his vision, is humbled and forced into a group, and spends his remaining time devising a way to reclaim his wounded pride against the one who defeated him. His obsession does not wane but grows, ultimately consuming him. Unable to accept that his art could be bested by Sasuke’s Sharingan, he chooses death in a spectacular explosion, ironically making his own person the ultimate, final work of art he would ever create. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, he is reincarnated by the Impure World Reincarnation technique, forced to fight against his former teacher, the Third Tsuchikage, and his师妹, Kurotsuchi. He is ultimately sealed and his soul returns to the afterlife.

Deidara's notable abilities are entirely centered on his Explosive Clay, a technique derived from his stolen forbidden jutsu and his natural Explosion Release kekkei genkai. Using the mouths in his hands, he chews clay and infuses it with chakra, molding it into various living sculptures. These creations are ranked by power: C1 consists of small, agile creatures with grenade-level power; C2 is a large dragon that serves as a mobile platform and fires guided missiles; C3 is a massive bomb powerful enough to destroy an entire village; and C4 Karura is a giant clone that releases microscopic bombs that enter an opponent's body through respiration, turning them into dust from the inside out. For transport and aerial combat, he frequently creates large clay birds. His final, desperate technique, C0, uses the mouth on his chest to turn his own body into a gigantic bomb, annihilating everything within a ten-kilometer radius at the cost of his own life. His primary weakness is lightning-based techniques, which can neutralize his clay's explosive properties.