Zahir Raihan was born on 19 August 1935 in the village Majupur, Feni District, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bangladesh). His birth name was Mohammad Zahirullah. He studied in Mitra Institute, Kolkata and in Alia Madrasha there. After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, he, along with his parents, came back to his village from Calcutta. In 1950, Raihan passed his matriculation from Amirabad High School, Feni. Then he passed ISC from Jagannath College, Dhaka in 1953. He received Bachelor of Arts in 1956 and Master of Arts in 1958 in Bengali literature from University of Dhaka.