As a baby, he was sick with cerebral malaria for ten days, but made a full recovery. He grew up on a cattle ranch and spent his childhood hunting and hiking. His mother gave him novels of escape and excitement, which piqued his interest in fiction; however, his father dissuaded him from pursuing writing.

After education at Cordwalles Preparatory School, Michaelhouse in Natal and Rhodes University, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, he became a journalist, writing about social conditions in South Africa, but his father's advice to "Get a real job" prompted him to resentfully become a tax accountant.

He published his first novel, When the Lion Feeds, in 1964, written while he worked for Salisbury Inland Revenue. The book gained a film deal and its success encouraged him to become a full-time writer. His publisher and later agent, Charles Pick, gave him advice he never forgot: "Write for yourself, and write about what you know best."

He married and had two children after he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. The marriage ended in divorce at the age of twenty four. He married again following the publication of his first novel, this too ended in divorce. He married Danielle Thomas in 1971, dedicating his books to her until her death in 1999. He married Mokhiniso Rakhimova, from Tadjikistan, in May 2000.

He states that Africa is his major inspiration, and currently he has over 30 novels published. Smith now lives in London, but avows an abiding concern for the peoples and wildlife of his native continent.

In 2002, Wilbur Smith was granted the Inaugural Sport Shooting Ambassador Award by the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities.

The Courtney series can be split into three parts, each part following a particular era of the Courtney family.

In chronological order it goes the Third Sequence, First Sequence, then the Second Sequence.However this is a slight generalization, so in fact the book sequence is:

1. Birds of Prey 1660s
2. Monsoon 1690s
3. Blue Horizon 1730s
4. When the Lion Feeds 1860s-1890s
5. Triumph of the Sun 1880s
6. The Sound of Thunder 1899-1906
7. Assegai 1906-1918
8. The Burning Shore 1917-1920
9. A Sparrow Falls 1918-1925
10. Power of the Sword 1931-1948
11. Rage 1950s and 1960s
12. Golden Fox 1969-1979
13. A Time To Die 1987

The Ballantyne Novels chronicle the lives of the Ballantyne family, from the 1860s through the 1980s, against a background of the history of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

A fifth novel seeks to combine the Ballantyne narrative with that of Smith's other family saga, The Courtney Novels.

The books are set in the following time periods:

1. A Falcon Flies 1860
2. Men of Men 1870s-1890s
3. Triumph of the Sun 1880s
4. The Angels Weep 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977
5. The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1980s

A historical fiction series based in a large part on Pharaoh Thutmose III's time along with his story and that of his stepmother Hatshepsut through the eyes of his mother's vizier Senemut mixing in elements of the Hyskos' domination and eventual overthrow.

1. River God
2. The Seventh Scroll
3. Warlock
4. The Quest

The Seventh Scroll is set to modern times, but reflects the other three through archeological discoveries.

Critics of Wilbur Smith argue that his novels often contain sexist and racist assumptions and that they may have a political agenda.

Several of Smith's novels have been turned into movies.

• The Dark of the Sun 1965, filmed as "The Mercenaries" (1968) starring Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux
• Shout At the Devil 1968, filmed as "Shout at the Devil" (1976) starring Roger Moore, Lee Marvin & Barbara Parkins
• Gold Mine 1970, filmed as "Gold" (1974) starring Roger Moore and Susannah York.
• The Diamond Hunters 1971, filmed as The Kingfisher Caper (1975), and as Diamond Hunters (2001) starring Roy Scheider, Alyssa Milano
• Wild Justice 1979, filmed as Wild Justice but released to video titled Covert Assassin (1993) starring Roy Scheider
• The Burning Shore 1985, filmed as Burning Shore (1991) starring Isabelle Gelinas, Derek de Lint and Jason Connery
• River God 1993 and The Seventh Scroll 1995, a miniseries filmed as "The Seventh Scroll" (1999) starring Roy Scheider, Jeff Fahey and Karina Lombard