Docker container lifecycle management includes creation, startup, stop, restart, deletion, and other stages. Create container: docker create or docker run (create and start). Start container: docker start. Stop container: docker stop (graceful stop, sends SIGTERM signal) or docker kill (force stop, sends SIGKILL signal). Restart container: docker restart. Delete container: docker rm (must stop container first). View container status: docker ps (running), docker ps -a (all containers). Container exit codes: 0 means normal exit, non-zero means abnormal exit. Use --restart-policy to control automatic restart behavior after container exit.