Horst Krause was born in Bönhof (then part of Western Prussia) on December 18, 1941. From age seven on, he lived in Ludwigsfelde, where he completed an apprenticeship as a turner. From 1961 on, he regularly performed in stage productions of the local youth club. In 1964, he enrolled at the state acting school (today known as the renowned "Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch") and successfully graduated three years later. In the following years, then had engagements at different theatres in Parchim, Karl-Marx-Stadt and Dresden. From the mid-1970s on, Krause also occasionally appeared in TV productions.

He made his cinema debut in the 1981 DEFA comedy "Asta, mein Engelchen". He had supporting roles in films like "Karl May" (1992) and "Go Trabi Go 2" (1992) before he made his breakthrough as a screen actor with his award-winning performance as an illiterate in Detlev Buck's "Wir können auch anders". Following the success, Krause primarily focused on film and television. He appeared in numerous TV productions and since 1996, he has a starring role in the crime series "Polizeiruf 110": He plays an idiosyncratic police officer named Krause – and became so popular with viewers, that three feature-length films of the series were dedicated to him. On the big screen, Krause appeared in the horror thriller "Sieben Monde", Andreas Dresen's "Nachtgestalten" and an adaptation of Tucholsky's "Gripsholm". He got rave reviews for his portrayal of an East-German miner, whose love for blues takes him to the US South in the art house hit "Schultze gets the Blues" (2003). This was followed by roles in films as diverse as "Morgen, ihr Luschen! Der Ausbilder-Schmidt-Film" (2007/2008) or "Boxhagener Platz" (2009/2010).