The Kazakhs were traditionally pastoral nomads, dwelling year-round in portable, dome-shaped tents (called gers, or yurts (yurt)) constructed of dismountable wooden frames covered with felt. The Kazakhs migrated seasonally to find pasturage for their livestock, including horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and a few camels. The diet consisted largely of milk products supplemented by mutton. Fermented mare's milk (koumiss) and horse flesh were highly esteemed but usually available only to the prosperous. Felt made the tent snug inside and out and was used for cloaks. Hides provided clothing, containers, and thongs; horsehair was braided into rope, while horn was used for ladles and other utensils.

The Kazakhs believe themselves to be descended from a progenitor who had three sons from whom sprang the main divisions of the Kazakhs: the Great, Middle, and Little hordes (ordas) that occupied the eastern, central, and western parts, respectively, of what became the Kazakh khanate and is now Kazakhstan. These hordes were subdivided into smaller groups; the basic unit was the extended family, embracing not only parents and unmarried children but married sons and their families, who camped together. Groups at various levels in the tribal hierarchy had chiefs, but only rarely was the Kazakh nation, or even one of the hordes, united under a single chief.

Their nomadic life was gradually curtailed by the encroachment of settled agriculture on the pasturelands. In the 19th century an increasing number of Kazakhs along the borders began to plant some crops. During World War I and again under Soviet rule, many Kazakhs were killed in repressions or fell victim to famines; still others fled with their herds to Sinkiang in China or to Afghanistan, and the remaining nomads were eventually settled on collective farms. Most Kazakhs are now settled farmers who raise sheep and other livestock and grow crops. In Sinkiang, however, many nomadic groups remain.