Waliullah was born on 15 August 1922 at Sholashahar in Chittagong District. His father's name is Syed Ahmadullah. He was a government officer. Waliullah spent his childhood in Mymensingh, Feni, Krishnanagar and Kurigram district. He passed matriculation from Kurigram High School in 1939 and IA from Dhaka College in 1941. He graduated from Ananda Mohan College in 1943. Later, he admitted to University of Calcutta but did not complete his post graduation.