Jeter attended college at California State University, Fullerton where he became friends with James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers, and through them, Philip K. Dick. Jeter was actually the inspiration for the character named Kevin in Dick's novel, Valis. Many of Jeter's books focus on the subjective nature of reality in a way that is reminiscent of the works by Dick.

Jeter wrote an early Cyberpunk novel, Dr. Adder, which was enthusiastically recommended by Philip K. Dick. Due to its violent and sexually-provocative content, it took Jeter approximately ten years to find a publisher for it. Jeter is also the first to coin the term "Steampunk," in a letter to Locus magazine in April 1987, to describe the retro-technology, alternate-history works that he published along with his friends, Blaylock and Powers. Jeter's Steampunk novels were Morlock Night and Infernal Devices.

He currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife, Geri.

As well as his own original novels, K. W. Jeter has written a number of authorized novel sequels to the critically acclaimed 1982 motion picture Blade Runner, which was adapted from Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Original novels

• Seeklight (1975)
• The Dreamfields (1976)
• Morlock Night (1979; a sequel to H. G. Wells' The Time Machine)
• Soul Eater (1983)
• Dr. Adder (1984)
• The Glass Hammer (1985)
• Infernal Devices (1987)
• Dark Seeker (1987)
• Mantis (1987)
• Death Arms (1989)
• Farewell Horizontal (1989)
• In the Land of the Dead (1989)
• The Night Man (1989)
• Madlands (1991)
• Wolf Flow (1992)
• Noir (1998)

Star Wars books

• The Mandalorian Armor (1998)
• Slave Ship (1998)
• Hard Merchandise (1999)

Blade Runner sequels

• The Edge of Human (1995)
• Replicant Night (1996)
• Eye and Talon (2000)

Star Trek:Deep Space Nine novels

• Bloodletter (1993)
• Warped (1995)

Comic Works

• Mister E (DC) (1991)
• N-Vector (Wildstorm) (2000)