[12] Kiviuq is about 17 km in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 11.3 million kilometers in 449 days.

It is light red, and the Kiviupian (Kiviuqan)[a] infrared spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Siarnaq and Paaliaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.

[7][13] Kiviuq is believed to be in Kozai resonance, cyclically reducing its orbital inclination while increasing the eccentricity and vice versa.

The large amplitude of Kiviuq suggests that it has an elongated shape, and may be a possible contact binary.

[4] On 30 August 2010, the ISS camera of the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft took light-curve data from a distance of 9.3 million km.