'Love Is a Battlefield' is set in the key of D minor, at a tempo of 90.691 beats per minute. In 1984, the song won Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. The single was unlike most of Benatar's previous work, as it featured an electronic dance element, but guitars and drums were still present. The song in the Kay Gee Remix version, featuring Kay Gee and Queen Latifah, is on the end credits of the 1998 film Small Soldiers. It was also featured in the 2004 film 13 Going on 30, where 'love is a battlefield' is the mantra of the main character Jenna Rink, played by Jennifer Garner.

In the television series Drop Dead Diva the song is performed by the actresses Brooke Elliott and Faith Prince. The song was featured in the television series Psych. It was awarded a Gold certification in Canada as well. The song was re-released in the United Kingdom in March 1985 and reached number 17. In the Netherlands, the song peaked the charts for four weeks it reached number two on the 1984 year-end chart. It reached number one on the Australian singles chart in February 1984 and remained there for five weeks, becoming the 11th biggest-selling single of the year. It topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for four weeks and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983. The single was Benatar's second US million-seller and is tied with ' We Belong' as her highest-charting single in the United States. After some exploration with drum machines and the band, Neil Giraldo decided to make this an uptempo song. Knight and Chapman wrote this song for Benatar initially as a ballad with a beautiful melody and moving chord changes.

Pat benatar love is a battlefield