Houses have between three and five rooms, a courtyard with flowers and fruit trees and gates that face south. Xibe women wear close-fitting gowns that reach the instep and have the front, lower hem and sleeves trimed with lace. Men wear long robes in winter. Xibe eat rice, raise cattle and sheep, drink tea with milk and eat cheese and other dairy products. They hunt and fish when farming is slow.
Fish is preserved for use in the winter.
A distinctive of the Xibe is the value they place on education. They are also expert archers who hold archery competitions in every village during the slack season in winter and on festival days. The Xibe practice shamanism, turning to shamans to cure the sick, communicate with the gods and control events. Their gods include the Insect King, the Dragon King, the Earth Spirit, the Smallpox Spirit and Xilimama and Hairkan. These last two provide domestic tranquility and protect livestock respectively.