Tofig Guliyev was born in Baku.

He studied at the vocational school under the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory (1936, I. Eisberg's piano class, S. Strasser's conducting class).

In 1931, on the advice of Asaf Zeynalli, he composed the song "Mektebli" to the words of Mirza Alakbar Sabir. In 1935, he began conducting at the Azerbaijan State Drama Theater. In 1936, together with composer Zakir Bagirov, he prepared the mughams "Rast", "Segah", "Zabul", "Dügah" on the piano. To continue his education, he was sent to the Moscow State Conservatory. There he began working as a pianist in the orchestra led by A. Tfasman. In 1939, he returned to Baku and in 1941 created the "Red Army" ensemble. He wrote various patriotic songs for the ensemble, which worked as part of the 402nd division. In 1943, he was the head of the “Red Fleet” section of the ensemble, which was divided into two parts. After the war, he collaborated with theaters. In 1951, he entered the postgraduate course of the Moscow State Conservatory and defended his scientific work under the guidance of A. Gauk. In the same year, he was one of the creators of the collection “Azerbaijani Folk Dances”. In 1954, he began teaching at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory. In 1958, he became the artistic director and then director of the Philharmonic. In the late 70s of the 20th century, he created many children's and youth music competitions, including “Baku Autumn”.

He headed the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan (1969-1979 / 1990-2000).

He was the composer of the film “Hasan Arbakesh” (1965, directed by Bension Kimyagerov / Tajikistan) by foreign film producers, and his composition “Girls’ Song” was used in the film “Absurdistan” (2008, directed by Veit Helmer / Germany).

Honored Artist (1959), People’s Artist (1964), State Prize Laureate (1980), recipient of the Order of “Independence” (1997) Tofig Guliyev died in 2000 and was buried in the Alley of Honor.

Composer Tofig Guliyev is the father of director Eldar Guliyev.