The Tacheng Prefecture is in the northwestern Xinjiang, China, and is sensitive to climate change. Based on the daily temperature data of seven national meteorological stations in the Tacheng Prefecture, sea surface temperature (SST) from the Physical Sciences Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and atmospheric circulation indices from the National Climate Center of China Meteorological Administration from 1961 to 2018, and using some mathematical statistics method, such as the least-squares method, the R/S analysis method, Mann-Kendall tests, and the correlation analysis method, the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of extreme air temperature indices and its influencing factors were analyzed. The results show that the annual maximum daily maximum temperature indices increased at a rate of 0.09 ℃ per decade, which is insignificant, whereas the annual minimum of daily minimum temperature indices warmed at a rate of 0.97 ℃ per decade. The cool indices (cool days, cool nights, frosts days, and icing days) decreased at rates of 1.75 ℃, 5.24 ℃, 4.07 ℃, and 1.84 ℃ per decade, whereas warm indices (warm nights, summer days, and tropical nights) significantly increased at rates of 1.79 ℃, 5.89 ℃, 2.18 ℃, and 2.08 ℃ per decade. The future trends of 10 extreme temperature indices were the same as the past 58 years. The variation of cool and warm indices was asymmetrical. The magnitude of the coldest daily minimum temperature was greater than the warmest daily maximum temperature. The change range of night indices (cool nights, warm nights) was larger than that of day indices (cool days, warm days). The warming magnitude of the most extreme temperature indices was greater in the northern Tacheng Prefecture than the southern. The annual minimum daily minimum temperature (cool days and cool nights) changed suddenly in the early 1980s, and warm days, warm nights, summer nights, tropical nights, and frost days showed a sudden warming change in the mid-1990s. In summary, the influence of atmospheric circulation was higher for cool indices than warm indices. Cool days, cool nights, frost days, and icing days positively correlated with circulation indices, such as the Northern Hemisphere polar vortex area, Asia polar vortex area index in winter, Pacific polar vortex area, North America polar vortex area, Atlantic-Eurasian polar vortex area index, Eurasian and Asian meridional circulation index. However, these cool indices negatively correlated with Eurasian and Asian zonal circulation and the Tibetan Plateau index. Those warm indices (warm days, warm nights, summer days, and tropical nights) positively correlated with the Northern Hemisphere subtropical high area, Western Pacific subtropical high area indices in summer, and the Tibetan Plateau index. The cool indices negatively correlated with Atlantic Ocean SST and Niño Region (Tropical Pacific) SST, whereas warm indices positively correlated with Atlantic Ocean SST, more remarkable night indices responded to SST than day indices.