Huang Bo was born in Qingdao, in 1974. His parents both worked in the government. Before Huang became an actor, he was a bar singer, dance instructor, film dubber, and factory owner. During his time singing in bars, he even had his own band, "Blue Sand Wind". In 2000, his friend Gao Hu introduced him to Director Guan Hu by chance, which began Huang's acting career.

In 2000, Huang Bo wanted to study in the Beijing Film Academy, however, he didn’t receive the admission for the first time he applied. In 2002, Huang Bo finally got admitted to the Academy, studying in dubbing. Two years later, Huang Bo graduated from college, and became a professional voice actor. Before Huang Bo's breakout role in the 2006 film Crazy Stone, he had several small roles in different TV series.

In the year of 2006, Huang Bo participated in Director Ning Hao’s latest film Crazy Stone, which garnered him much exposure. In 2007, Huang won his first major award, for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th annual Chinese Film Media Awards . Moreover, his performance in the film Cow won him the Best Actor award at the 46th Golden Horse Awards, and he received 2 more awards for that film.

The nickname of Huang Bo's wife is Xiao Ou, and they married in 2007. Huang Bo's daughter was born in July, 2011.

Huang Bo was considered as one of the top actors in China in 2010. During the two years between 2010 and 2011, Huang Bo performed in 5 films, and also started his music career. In 2012, Huang Bo hosted the 49th Golden Horse Awards, and his latest film Lost in Thailand became the top-grossing domestic film at the Chinese box-office.