Lifebuoy with floating lifeline is mainly used to throw to ship personnel or passengers who have fallen into the water, and then pull the person to a safe location for rescue.

Lifebuoy with self-igniting light is mainly used for throwing to people who have fallen into the water at night, so they can grab onto the lifebuoy, and also for indicating the position of the person who fell into the water.

Lifebuoy with self-igniting light and self-activating smoke signal is usually placed on both sides of the bridge and is mainly used for rescuing people who have fallen into the water during the ship's voyage. Since it's difficult to quickly stop the ship during navigation, the brightness of the self-igniting light at night and the orange smoke signal during the day help determine the position of the person in the water, making it easier for the ship to turn around and rescue the person who fell into the water.

Normal lifebuoy has not any accessories, and it was equipped on a ship as a spare lifebuoy.