The ship had an overall length of 240feet, a beam of 23.5feet and a draught of NaNfeet. She was powered by 2 triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 6700ihp and gave a maximum design speed of 27kn. During the trials the contract speed was exceeded, and the vessel was clocked at 27.29kn. Steam for the turbines was provided by two double-ended Yarrow boilers. Paraíba carried a maximum of 140LT of coal that gave her a range of approximately 3700nmi at .
The ship mounted two 4abbr=onNaNabbr=on guns in single mounts. In addition, four 47 mm (3pdr) cannons in single mounts were deployed at the time of launching.
Her first commander was Captain Affonso de Fonseca Rodrigues.