On the basis of the bistable bi-local active memristor (BBAM), an active memristor (AM) and its emulator were designed, and the characteristic fingerprints of the memristor were found under the applied periodic voltage. A memristor-based chaotic circuit was constructed, whose corresponding dynamics system was described by the 4-D autonomous differential equations. Complex dynamics behaviors, including chaos, transient chaos, heterogeneous coexisting attractors, and state-switches of the system were analyzed and explored by using Lyapunov exponents, bifurcation diagrams, phase diagrams, and Poincaré mapping, among others. In particular, a novel exotic chaotic attractor of the system was observed, as well as the singular state-switching between point attractors and chaotic attractors. The results of the theoretical analysis were verified by both circuit experiments and digital signal processing (DSP) technology.