Maximilian Voloshin was born on May 16, 1877, in Kyiv. His father, Alexander Maximovich Kiryenko-Voloshin, was a lawyer and collegiate advisor, while his mother, Elena Ottobaldovna Glazer, had German roots. His grandfather, Ottobald Andreyevich Glazer, served as a colonel engineer. Maximilian spent his childhood in Taganrog, Sevastopol, and Moscow, initially studying at the L. I. Polivanov Gymnasium and later at the 1st Moscow Gymnasium.

In 1893, he moved to Crimea with his mother, where he graduated from the Feodosia Gymnasium. Reflecting on his school years, Voloshin recounted how the gymnasium director, Vasily Xenofontovich Vinogradov, received him with skepticism, noting that "we cannot correct idiots." From 1897 to 1899, he studied at the law faculty of Moscow University but was expelled for participating in riots. After that, Voloshin engaged in self-education.

In the early 1900s, he traveled extensively across Europe, attended lectures at the Sorbonne, and took drawing lessons from E. S. Kruglikova in Paris. Returning to Moscow in 1903, Voloshin joined the circle of symbolists and began to publish actively, living alternately in Russia and Paris. From 1904, he regularly wrote for the newspaper "Rus" and the magazine "Vesy," as well as for the French press.

On March 23, 1905, Voloshin became a Freemason in Paris, and in April of the same year, he joined another lodge. In 1906, he married artist Margarita Sabashnikova, but their marriage lasted only a year. In 1907, Voloshin settled in Koktebel, where his mother began building a dacha.

From 1910, he worked on the cycle "Cimmerian Twilight" and wrote articles about artists, supporting the groups "Jack of Diamonds" and "Donkey's Tail." In 1909, he had a duel with N. Gumilyov over a love triangle involving E. Dmitrieva, but it ended without casualties. Voloshin was close to Dmitrieva, and their correspondence continued until her death in 1928.

In 1910, his first poetry collection was published. In 1914, he published a book of articles titled "Faces of Creativity," and in 1915, a collection of war poems. Voloshin was also passionate about painting, creating watercolors of Crimea. In 1913, he gave a lecture on Repin's painting, and in 1914, he participated in the construction of the Goetheanum in Switzerland.

Voloshin refused military service during World War I and left for Paris in 1915. In 1917, he returned to Russia, where he continued to paint and work on projects for artists. After the revolution, he lived in Koktebel, helping those persecuted by both sides of the conflict.

In 1924, Voloshin opened a House of Creativity in his home. In 1927, he married Maria Zabolotskaya, who supported him during difficult years and preserved his legacy. In 1932, he bequeathed his dacha to the Writers' Union. Voloshin passed away on August 11, 1932, in Koktebel and was buried on Mount Kuchuk-Yanyshar. His posthumous mask was created by sculptor Sergey Merkuryev.