While Vulpes corsac is reported to be nocturnal in the wild, in captivity it is very active during the day. They are excellent climbers but run with only moderate speed and can be caught by a slow dog. Their senses of hearing, vision, and smell are excellent. Corsac foxes are reported to be nomadic and do not keep a fixed home range, they will migrate south when hunting is difficult due to deep snow and ice. This species is more social than other foxes.
Some individuals even live together in the same burrow.
In the winter, they form small hunting packs, which may represent mated pairs and their grown young. Their burrows have often been taken over from other animals such as marmots. The corsac fox is an inhabitant of steppes and semi-desert. It avoids areas used for agricultural purposes, forests, and thickets. It lives in adjoining burrows that were dug by other animals, then taken over by the fox.