The Khangai are an "island" mountain range surrounded by lower forest steppe and semi-arid regions of central Mongolia.

At lower altitudes, the ecoregion is completely surrounded by the Selenge-Orkhon forest steppe ecoregion, except for a thin band of the Khangai Mountains conifer forests on the northern slope of the Khangai's Tarbagatay Range.

The topography reflects multiple periods of glaciation, although there are currently no permanent snow fields in the range outside of Otgontenger.

[1] Above the treeline, the plant communities are low shrubs, grasses, sedges, moss and lichen.

There are relatively few animal species at this altitude, but Alpine pika are noteworthy, and birds include the Altai snowcock (Tetraogallus altaicus) and Eurasian dotterel (Charadrius morinellus).