Scliar was born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. He graduated in medicine in 1962, majoring in public health.

In 1962, his first book Stories of a Doctor in Formation was published, although later on he regretted having published it so young. His second book The Carnival of the Animals was published in 1968.

Most of Scliar's writing centers on issues of Jewish identity in the Diaspora and particularly on being Jewish in Brazil. In a recent autobiographical piece, Scliar discusses his membership in the Jewish, medical, Gaucho, and Brazilian tribes. He was elected a life-time member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2003. His novel The Centaur in the Garden was included among the 100 Greatest Works of Modern Jewish Literature by The National Yiddish Book Center.

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