I'm sure it's real leather. This is heavy; not very flexible and difficult to bend; I widened the holes in the back and replaced the buckle with a brass buckle, maybe it's impregnated with some kind of polymer? This is a great gun belt. I love it and it's perfect for my purposes. I followed all the instructions but they are shorter than expected; I have many Holes when I'm skinny but only three when I'm fat right? Should I have ordered the next size up? Maybe we'll all lose weight in years to come?