Bogdan Khmelnytsky was born on December 27, 1595, in the village of Subotiv, which is now a village in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. His parents were the centurion of the Zaporozhian Host, Mykhailo Lavrynovych Khmelnytsky, and Anastasia Fedorivna. Little is known about his life. He received his first education at the Kyiv Brotherhood School, then continued his studies with the Jesuits in Jarosław or Lviv, obtaining a good education for that time.

After returning home, Khmelnytsky participated in the Polish-Turkish War of 1620-1621. In the battle near Cecora, he was captured, and his father was killed. He spent two hard years in captivity.

Escaping from captivity in 1622, Khmelnytsky returned to Subotiv and became a registered Cossack. From the late 1620s, he actively participated in the Zaporozhian sea campaigns against Turkish cities. In 1634, he took part in the siege of Smolensk, and in 1635, he saved King Władysław from captivity in one of the battles near Moscow, for which he was awarded a golden saber. In 1637, he participated in the Cossack uprising led by Pavliuk. From 1644 to 1646, he took part in the French-Spanish War as part of the Cossack army.

In 1647, Khmelnytsky's enemy, Chaplinsky, attacked the village of Subotiv. As a result, his ten-year-old son Ostap and his wife Anna Semenivna, whom he had been married to since 1625, were killed. Chaplinsky kidnapped and married Khmelnytsky's ward, Helena. Bogdan appealed to the king for protection but was imprisoned on false charges of preparing a Cossack uprising. This became the reason for the Cossack uprising that Khmelnytsky organized in 1648.

In 1648, he signed the Bakhchisarai Peace Treaty with Islam Gerai about the alliance between the Zaporozhian Host and the Crimean Khanate. He achieved his first major victory in the battle of Yellow Waters in the spring of 1648. He then won battles near Korsun and Pyliavtsi, besieged Lviv, but after receiving a ransom, he lifted the siege and headed west. Negotiations began between the king and the Cossacks. Not waiting for their conclusion, Khmelnytsky returned to Kyiv in 1649. That same year, he married Helena Chaplinska, receiving special permission from the church, even though Chaplinsky was alive and remained her husband.

After another victory over the nobility in August 1649, Khmelnytsky agreed to the terms of the Zboriv Peace Treaty. However, the oppression of the Cossacks by the nobility resumed, and by 1651, hostilities began again. During this time, Khmelnytsky experienced the death of his wife Helena, who was suspected of embezzling the treasury and marital infidelity. She was executed by Khmelnytsky's son, Tymish, who did not like his stepmother. This time, Khmelnytsky's army suffered defeats. On September 17, 1651, the unfavorable Treaty of Bila Tserkva was concluded for the Cossacks, which was soon violated by the Poles.

On January 8, 1654, a council was convened in Pereiaslav, where it was decided to join the Tsardom of Moscow and pledge allegiance to the tsar.

In early 1657, sensing his imminent death, Khmelnytsky convened a council to choose a successor. His sixteen-year-old son Yurii was chosen.

Bogdan Khmelnytsky died on July 27, 1657, from a stroke. He was buried in the village of Subotiv in the stone church he built, which still exists today.