His father worked in the local institutions, contributed to newspapers and was a keen hunter.
He later moved to study biology and then graduated in natural sciences from Moscow State University in 1925.
From 1945 Formozov centred his research on the ecology of the steppes and deserts found in the Soviet Union.
[1] Formozov introduced numerous terms for snow drift phenomena that precisely identify habitats and associations.
[2] He married twice, first to Lyubov Nikolaevna née Promptova (1903–1990) sister of the ornithologist Aleksandr Promptov.