Mohamed Morsi was born in the Sharqia Governorate, in northern Egypt, of modest provincial origin, in the village of El Adwah, north of Cairo, on 8 August 1951. His father was a farmer and his mother a housewife. He is the eldest of five brothers, and told journalists that he remembers being taken to school on the back of a donkey. In the late 1960s, he moved to Cairo to study at Cairo University, and earned a BA in engineering with high honors in 1975. He fulfilled his military Service in the Egyptian Army from 1975 to 1976, serving in the chemical warfare unit. He then resumed his studies at Cairo University and earned an MS in metallurgical engineering in 1978. After completing his master's degree, Morsi earned a government scholarship that enabled him to study in the United States. He received a PhD in materials science from the University of Southern California in 1982 with his dissertation "High-Temperature Electrical Conductivity and Defect Structure of Donor-Doped Al₂O₃". 

Morsi married his cousin, Naglaa Ali Mahmoud, in 1979. She reportedly stated that she did not want to be referred to as "First Lady" but rather as "First Servant [of the Egyptian public]".

While living in the United States, Morsi became an Asst.Prof. at the California State University, Northridge from 1982 to 1985. Morsi, an expert on precision metal surfaces, also worked with NASA in the early 1980s, helping to develop Space Shuttle engines.

In 1985, Morsi quit his job at CSUN and returned to Egypt, becoming a professor at Zagazig University, where he was appointed head of the engineering department. Morsi was a lecturer at Zagazig University's engineering department until 2010.

Morsi was first elected to parliament in 2000. He served as a Member of Parliament from 2000 to 2005, officially as an independent candidate because the Brotherhood was technically barred from running candidates for office under Mubarak. He was a member of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood until the founding of the Freedom and Justice Party in 2011, at which point he was elected by the MB's Guidance Office to be the first President of the new party. While serving in this capacity in 2010, Morsi stated that "the two-state solution is nothing but a delusion concocted by the brutal usurper of the Palestinian lands."

Morsi's government condemned the Operation Pillar of Defense and called for a ceasefire. Morsi sent Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to Gaza to express solidarity with Gaza and Hamas, a stark contrast to Hosni Mubarak's treatment of Hamas as an enemy in the 2008–09 Gaza War. Egypt, along with the United States mediated the ceasefire with Hamas and Israel.

After his overthrow, Morsi faced several charges including inciting the killing of opponents protesting outside his palace, espionage for foreign militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards, for escaping Wadi el-Natroun Prison during the 2011 revolution prior to his election as President, leaking Classified documents to Qatar, in addition to "insulting the judiciary", a charge still under investigation.

Morsi attended the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran at the end of August 2012, in a visit that could resume normal relations for the countries. Their diplomatic relationship has been strained since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

On his first state visit to Pakistan, Morsi was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) by National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, Pakistan on 18 March 2013 in recognition of his achievements and significant contributions towards the promotion of peace and harmony in the world and strengthening of relations with the Muslim countries, especially Pakistan.

On 29 January 2014, Morsi faced trial for the second time for the charge of breaking out of jail during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 after conspiring with foreign militant groups, including Hamas, to spread violent chaos throughout Egypt. The trial was postponed for a month. On 1 February 2014, Morsi's trial resumed on charges of inciting deadly violence. The trial was adjourned to the next day to hear witnesses for the prosecution, but it was then repeatedly postponed.

In April 2015, the court convicted Morsi, along with 12 other defendants, including former MP Mohamed Beltagy, for the arrest and torture of protesters and incitement to violence. All defendants were acquitted of murder charges. The judge handed down a 20-year sentence for Morsi and the others who were convicted. Morsi still faced separate trials for espionage, terrorism, and prison break charges and was sentenced to death on 16 May along with other defendants. The death penalty was handed down to Morsi and 105 others for their role in the Wadi el-Natrun prison break of January 2011. As per Egypt's penal code, the opinion was referred to the Grand Mufti, whose assent or dissent is legally nonbinding.

In November 2016, the court of cassation overturned death penalty on Morsi for spying charges as well five other Muslim Brotherhood members. The same court will review two other charges on Morsi for his role on the January 2011 prison break as well as for allegedly providing Classified information to the government of Qatar.

A Detention Review Panel, consisting of UK MPs and senior lawyers, including MP Crispin Blunt, Lord Edward Faulks and MP Paul Williams, have reviewed Morsi's detention conditions. Based on the testimonies of Morsi's family and others informed of his condition, the panel has called his treatment "cruel, inhuman and degrading" and said it could "meet the threshold for torture in accordance Egyptian and international law".Sick former President Mohamed Morsi ‘faces death in prison’, Bel Trew, March 28 2018 The Times