Citino was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating with his Bachelor's degree in history from Ohio State University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1978, Citino then went on to earn his Master's and PhD from Indiana University in 1980 and 1984, respectively. He is married with three daughters, and has taught history at EMU since 1991, occasionally taking a sabbatical to write another book. He is fluent in German and is a prolific reader of early 20th century German military literature, particularly the Militär-Wochenblatt, a professional German military periodical published from 1816 to 1942.

Citino is one of America's leading authorities on German military history. Having appeared repeatedly on the History Channel as a consultant on various related subjects, notably on Hard Target; where he discussed the failure of U.S. intelligence before the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, and on HistoryCENTER where he discussed the fall of Japan in the last eight months of World War II. He has also authored numerous books, notably The Path to Blitzkrieg, Quest For Decisive Victory, Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm, and The German Way of War. His eighth book, The Death of the Wehrmacht, was released on September 6, 2007. In 2005 his book The German Way of War was chosen as one of two selections of the month for the Military Book Club, competing with Oliver North's War Stories III. He is currently writing a book on German combat operations during 1943.

Citino is a proponent of changing the current nomenclature of German military tactics. Although he uses the word Blitzkrieg on the cover of his books, he has always espoused the view that it should be called by its proper German military term, Bewegungskrieg, or maneuver warfare. He has taught history classes at Eastern Michigan University for over a decade, mostly on German military history, stressing the doctrines of maneuver warfare to create a Kesselschlacht and the German doctrine of Auftragstaktik. Citino has also taught classes about Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, as well as American military history. In 1993 he won EMU’s Teaching I Award for his enthusiasm in the classroom and his ability to inspire student interest in history.

Dr. Citino was a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY for the 2008-09 academic year. He is also a fellow of the Barsanti Military History Center at the University of North Texas. He is scheduled to be a visiting professor at the US Air Force Academy in 2011.