The prospekt continues a westward path of Vozdvizhenka Street and New Arbat Avenue from Novoarbatsky Bridge over the Moskva (river) to the junction with Rublyovskoye Shosse; past this point, the route changes its name to Mozhaiskoye Shosse.

Present-day Kutuzovsky Prospekt emerged between 1957 and 1963, incorporating part of the old Mozhaiskoye Schosse (buildings no.

Initially, Kutuzovsky Prospekt extended east to the Garden Ring; however, in 1963, at the beginning of the New Arbat Avenue redevelopment, the segment between the Garden Ring and Novoarbatsky Bridge was assigned to New Arbat (then known as Prospekt Kalinina).

The eastern part of the Prospekt (within Dorogomilovo District), developed between 1938 and 1963, has been traditionally an expensive, high-quality residential area and hosted the social elite, including Leonid Brezhnev's family.

The segment west of the Poklonnaya Hill is less affluent, with standardized 1950s–1980s housing; one notable exception is the luxury Edelweiss apartment tower built in the 2000s.