It is a red giant star of the spectral type M5III, currently at the last stages of evolution.

In the near-infrared J band, it is brighter than the nearby Vega.

R Lyrae is unusual in that it is a red star with a high proper motion, greater than 50 milliarcseconds a year.

[4][13] It is calculated that R Lyrae was a 2.0 M☉ star on the main sequence, similar to Sirius A today.

It is now an oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch star, with both hydrogen and helium shells fusing.