Background: The aim of this study was to examine the lifestyle characteristics of hypertensive patients and to investigate the association between the duration of hypertension and lifestyle characteristics. Methods: A total 16,508 adults (including 5,933 hypertensive patients) aged 20 years and older who participated in the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2018 were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between the duration of hypertension and lifestyle factors. Results: The longer duration of hypertension was associated with lower risk of drinking in men (odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66–0.93), and this observation remained when participants with hypertension for ≥ 13 years were compared to those with hypertension for < 1 year (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37–0.88). On the other hand, increased duration of hypertension increased the odds of engaging in high physical activity (PA) in women (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.15–2.56), particularly in men with hypertension for 6–12 years (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.03–2.69) and women with hypertension for ≥ 13 years (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.38–9.62). Conclusion In conclusion, adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle habits, particularly drinking cessation in men, and PA in both men and women was observed, and differences were observed depending on the duration of hypertension.