Günter Herburger studied Sanskrit and philosophy in Munich and Paris. After working at various professions, including as a secretary, road worker, and journalist in France, Spain, North Africa and Italy, he returned to Germany in 1956 and worked as a television editor for children's programs at the Süddeutschen Rundfunk for a year.

He debuted in 1962 with a prose piece in the anthology Ein Tag in der Stadt. Sechs Personen variieren ein Thema. Herburger has published novels, short stories, poems, plays, television screenplays as well as literary works and social criticism. He has received numerous awards for his works including the Peter-Huchel-Preis and the Munich Literaturpreis. Herburger has been a member of the German PEN Center since 1969, and since 2004 is a member of the Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste.