Su Shi was born in Meishan, near Mount Emei in what is now Sichuan province.

His brother Su Zhe and his father Su Xun are both famous literati.

Su's early education had been conducted by a Taoist priest at a local village school.

Later in his childhood, he had studied under his mother, herself a highly educated woman.

Su married at age seventeen.

He and his younger brother had an extremely close relationship, and in 1057, when Su was nineteen, he and his brother had both passed the highest-level civil service examinations to attain the degree of jinshi, a prerequisite for high government office.

His accomplishments at such a young age had attracted the attention of Emperor Renzong, and also that of Ouyang Xiu, who had beome Su's patron thereafter.

Ouyang had already been known as an admirer of Su Xun, sanctioning his literary style at court and stating that no other pleased him more.

When the 1057 jinshi examinations were given, Ouyang Xiu had required—without prior notice—that candidates were to write in the ancient prose style when answering questions on the Confucian classics.

The Su brothers had gained high honors for what were deemed impeccable answers and achieved celebrity status, especially in the case of Su Shi's exceptional performance in the subsequent 1061 decree examinations.

Beginning in 1060 and throughout the following twenty years, Su will hold a variety of government positions throughout China; most notably in Hangzhou, where he is responsible for constructing a pedestrian causeway across the West Lake that still bears his name: suti (Su causeway).

He had served as a magistrate in Mizhou, which is located in modern day Zhucheng County of Shandong province.

Later, when he is governor of Xuzhou, he writes a memorial to the throne in 1078 complaining about the troubling economic conditions and potential for armed rebellion in Liguo Industrial Prefecture, where a large part of the Chinese iron industry is located.