Cyanobacteria are variable in morphology, ranging from unicellular and filamentous to colonial forms. Filamentous forms exhibit functional cell differentiation such as heterocysts (for nitrogen fixation), akinetes (resting stage cells), and hormogonia (reproductive, motile filaments). These, together with the intercellular connections they possess, are considered the first signs of multicellularity.
Many cyanobacteria form motile filaments of cells, called hormogonia, that travel away from the main biomass to bud and form new colonies elsewhere. The cells in a hormogonium are often thinner than in the vegetative state, and the cells on either end of the motile chain may be tapered. To break away from the parent colony, a hormogonium often must tear apart a weaker cell in a filament, called a necridium.
Some filamentous species can differentiate into several different cell types: 
* Vegetative cells – the normal, photosynthetic cells that are formed under favorable growing conditions
* Akinetes – climate-resistant spores that may form when environmental conditions become harsh 
* Thick-walled heterocysts – which contain the enzyme nitrogenase vital for nitrogen fixation in an anaerobic environment due to its sensitivity to oxygen.
Each individual cell (each single cyanobacterium) typically has a thick, gelatinous cell wall. They lack flagella, but hormogonia of some species can move about by gliding along surfaces. Many of the multicellular filamentous forms of Oscillatoria are capable of a waving motion; the filament oscillates back and forth. In water columns, some cyanobacteria float by forming gas vesicles, as in archaea. These vesicles are not organelles as such. They are not bounded by lipid membranes, but by a protein sheath.