The Kirgiz people of Kizilsu lead one of two different lifestyles: that of a nomad or that of a settler. The nomadic Kirgiz of Kizilsu graze their livestock herds on low-lying grassland plains in the vicinity of rivers during the summer months, then relocate to higher mountain terrain during the winter, as the higher mountain slopes offer more exposure to the warming rays of the sun during winter. The lives of the Kizilsu Kirgiz have always been intricately interwoven with animal husbandry, where the animals they tend provide their food and drink as well as the wool with which they make their winter clothing and the felt that clads their tents.

The white felt tent of the Kizilsu Kirgiz is often, though not always, square in shape. The tent's frame is first covered with a mat made of grass, then covered with felt, but leaving a 1 meter by 1 meter hole that serves as a skylight and a vent for smoke. The Kirgiz tent is secured to the ground with the help of thick ropes that keep it from blowing apart during storms and during persistently strong winds.

Kirgiz settlers, in contrast, live in flat-roofed square mud houses with windows and skylights, and make their living as farmers.

Most Kizilsu Kirgiz are followers of Islam, though certain earlier shamanistic practices have been absorbed into the Kizilsu Kirgiz manner of practicing Islam. However, there are other Kirgiz tribes living in Xinjiang who practice Tibetan Buddhism, or Lamaism. They too tend to weave earlier shamanistic practices into their adopted religion.

The Turkic-Altaic language of modern-day Kizilsu was re-created in the 1950s, when a new alphabet was devised, replacing the older Arabic script and adopting a Roman alphabet-based script. In some localities, the Kirgiz people of Xinjiang have gone a step further and have outright adopted either the Chinese language or a local host language such as Uyghur or Kazak.

The diet of the Kirgiz herdsmen consists mainly of animal byproducts, with some cabbage, onions and potatoes added. They drink goat's milk, eat yogurt and drink tea laced with milk and salt. Wealthy herdsmen often drink cow's milk and eat beef, mutton, horse and camel flesh, as well as rice and boiled wheatmeal. The Kizilsu Kirgiz store butter either in dried sheepskin pouches or in pouches made of dried cattle stomachs. All of the tableware of a Kizilsu Kirgiz nomad household is made of wood. The Kirgiz settlers of Kizilsu have a broader diet that includes the agricultural produce that they grow.