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HOSTILE Present since 1.14 or earlier

Zombie mob in Minecraft

The Zombie is the most common hostile mob of the night. It is slow and easy to beat alone, but it comes in numbers, breaks doors on Hard difficulty and turns the villagers it kills into Zombie Villagers. Knowing how it burns, converts and spawns makes it far less of a threat.

Health: 2010 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Rotten Flesh
Found in: 54 biomes

Zombie stats

Health: 20 10 hearts
Behavior: Hostile
Main drop: Rotten Flesh
Spawns in: 54 biomes
Size: 0.6 × 1.95 blocks
XP when killed: 5+1 to 3 per item it wears · baby: 12
Speed: 0.23
Detection range: 35 blocks
Armor: 2

// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.

How much damage Zombie deals

Damage to a player without armor, by world difficulty. 1 ♥ = 2 damage points.

Melee attack

Peaceful00 ♥

Easy2.51.25 ♥

Normal31.5 ♥

Hard4.52.25 ♥

+5 with Iron Sword

+3.5 with Iron Shovel

What else changes with difficulty

Turns villagers into zombie villagers: Easy 0 %, Normal 50 %, Hard 100 %
Can call other zombies for help when hit: Hard only
Breaks wooden doors: Hard only
Chance to spawn holding a weapon: Easy 1 %, Normal 1 %, Hard 5 %

// Armor, Protection and Resistance reduce these values. Base values read from the game code (26.3).

Where to find Zombie

Biomes where it spawns naturally, with its share of the spawns in each group.

Old Growth Pine Taiga

All 54 biomes

Spawning

Group size: 42 to 4 · depends on the biome
Light level: Block light 0and light 7 or less overall

Structures

Trial spawnerTrial Chambers

Zombie drops

Zombie dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Rotten Flesh+1 per Looting level0–2

Red Mushroom+1 per Looting level · Only when riding a zombie horse0–1

Music Disc (Hyper Potions - Lava Chicken)Only when killed by a player · Only when riding a chicken · Baby only×1

Iron Ingot2.5% chance · 5.5% with Looting III · One of 3 rare items · Only when killed by a player×1

Carrot2.5% chance · 5.5% with Looting III · One of 3 rare items · Only when killed by a player×1

Potato2.5% chance · 5.5% with Looting III · One of 3 rare items · Only when killed by a player · Cooked if it dies on fire×1

Carried items and gearDropped on death, outside the loot table (game code)

The weapon or armor it spawned withEach piece: 8.5% chance, +1% per Looting level. The item comes back damaged.8.5%

Items it picked up off the groundAlways dropped. Only some of them can pick items up.100%

Health compared

Health vs other hostile mobshealth points

Stray20

Zombie20

Bogged16

Zombie and its family

Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.

Mob	Health	Armor	Attack	XP	Speed	Burns in daylight
Drowned	20	2	3	5	0.23	✓
Husk	20	2	3	5	0.23	·
Zombie	20	2	3	5	0.23	✓
Zombie Villager	20	2	3	5	0.23	✓
Zombified Piglin	20	2	5	5	0.23	·

Traits

Properties set in the game files.

Burns in daylightCatches fire in sunlight unless it wears a helmet or stands in shade or water.

Breathes underwaterDoes not drown.

Ignores Poison and RegenerationThese two effects have no effect on it.

Inverted healingInstant Health hurts it and Instant Damage heals it.

Weak to SmiteSmite deals extra damage to it.

UndeadThe game counts it among the undead, which affects how several effects and enchantments treat it.

Ignored by the WitherThe Wither does not target it.

ZombiePart of the zombie family.

Baby Zombie

Spawns as a baby 5% of spawns All baby mobs →

Advancements with Zombie

Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.

Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster

Command

Summon a Zombie/summon →

/summon minecraft:zombie ~ ~ ~

Daylight, water and conversions

A Zombie catches fire in direct sunlight. It survives if it wears a helmet, stands in the shade or in water, so a few always make it through the morning. In deserts, the Husk takes its place and does not burn at all.

A Zombie that stays underwater long enough turns into a Drowned, which can swim and sometimes carries a trident.

Zombies and villagers

Zombies go after villagers and wandering traders and trample turtle eggs. When a Zombie kills a villager, the villager may come back as a Zombie Villager: never on Easy, half the time on Normal and every time on Hard.

A Zombie Villager can be cured: hit it with a splash potion of Weakness, then feed it a golden apple. Once cured, it offers you lasting trade discounts.

Baby Zombies and jockeys

Baby Zombies are fast, small enough to slip through one-block gaps, and do not grow up. Some spawn riding a chicken: if you kill that baby Zombie while it rides the chicken, it can drop the Lava Chicken music disc. A Zombie riding a zombie horse can drop a red mushroom.

Fighting Zombies

Close your doors on Hard. Zombies can break wooden doors on that difficulty. Iron doors, fence gates or a raised doorway stop them.
Do not get surrounded. On Hard, a hit Zombie can call reinforcements.
Use Smite for a dedicated undead-fighting sword.

Zombies drop rotten flesh and, rarely, an iron ingot, a carrot or a potato. They also pick up items and armor lying on the ground and keep them, which is why some come at you in full gear.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 31 October 2026

Zombie — FAQ

How do you stop Zombies from breaking doors?

Doors only break on Hard difficulty. Use an iron door, a fence gate, or a door placed one block above the ground so Zombies cannot reach it.

Do all Zombies burn in daylight?

No. A Zombie with a helmet, in the shade or in water survives the day, and Husks never burn.

Where does the Zombie spawn?

In every Overworld biome except Deep Dark and Mushroom Fields.

What does a Zombie drop?

Rotten Flesh, Red Mushroom, Music Disc (Hyper Potions - Lava Chicken), Iron Ingot, Carrot and Potato. Only when riding a zombie horse: Red Mushroom. Only when riding a chicken: Music Disc (Hyper Potions - Lava Chicken). Only when killed by a player: Iron Ingot, Carrot and Potato. It also drops the weapon or armor it spawned with (8.5% chance per piece) and any items it picked up off the ground.

How much health does a Zombie have?

20 health points, which is 10 hearts.

Other hostile mobs

Bogged