Mikayil Mikayilov was born in Baku.

He studied at the Faculty of Economics of the Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute and the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute.

In 1924, he began working as a reviewer in the "Kommunist" newspaper. He was one of the first directors of Azerbaijani cinema. Since 1925, he has been working at the Azerbaijan Film Academy and has made many documentary and chronicle films.

Honored Artist (1941), Honored Art Worker (1959) Mikayil Mikayilov died in 1986.