Ismayil Afandiyev was born in Shamakhi.

He studied at the Baku Pedagogical Technical School (1929).

He worked as a teacher for a while. In 1932, he began acting at the Baku Turkish Workers' Theater. After the theater moved to Ganja, he worked there and performed at the Ganja Drama Theater until 1939. He was one of the first professional film actors in Azerbaijan. He began working at a film studio in 1939. In 1946, he went to Tabriz and staged several plays. He participated in the scoring of more than 200 films.

Honored Artist (1943) Ismayil Afandiyev died in 1967.