Tom Tykwer grew up in Wuppertal. In 1976, he started to film with a Super 8 camera before he began to work in arthouse cinemas in 1978. He then moved to Berlin and became the head of the Moviemento off-cinema in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Besides, he worked as a screen play editor and made portraits of directors for TV productions.

He already became interested in formal narrative techniques in his early short films: "Because" (1990) presented three variations of the same initial situation, while "Epilog" (1992) framed different versions of an argument between two lovers in an infinite loop.

In 1992, Tykwer and producer Stefan Arndt jointly set up the production company Liebesfilm that also produced his first feature-length film "Die tödliche Maria" ("Deadly Maria", 1993), a film that won the prize of German film critics. The chamber-play like psycho-drama impressed with its elaborate aesthetic composition and its nightmarish atmosphere.

In 1994, Tykwer and Arndt joined forces with the directors Dani Levy and Wolfgang Becker to set up the production company X-Filme creative pool. Tykwer and Becker then co-wrote the screen play to Becker's multiple award-winning metropolitan ballad "Das Leben ist eine Baustelle" ("Life Is All You Get", 1996).

In 1997 and 1998, Tykwer finished two films in a short period of time that turned him into one of the most promising young directors of German cinema: "Winterschläfer" ("Wintersleepers") starts with an accident in the winter and approaches its protagonists – four young people and an older farmer – in concentric circles. The wide screen images contrast impressive mountain landscapes with claustrophobic interiors that again prove the innovative handling of filmic techniques of composition by Tykwer and his preferred cinematographer Frank Griebe (who won the Filmband in Gold).

"Lola rennt" ("Run Lola Run", 1998) is situated in mid-1990s Berlin and tells the story of Lola (Franka Potente) who has to procure 100.000 Deutsche Mark within the next 20 minutes to save her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). The formal experiment – three variations of the same initial situation – that provided a dynamic editing sequence (the film was fully developed on the storyboard) and a techno soundtrack (Tykwer himself composed the music) became one of the most successful German films of the year and was also successful with international audiences. The psycho-thriller "Heaven" (2001) resulted from a collaboration with Krzystof Kieslowski who wrote the film's screenplay and dispensed with spectacular effects to a large extent.

During the following years, Tykwer mainly appeared as a producer. He only directed the romantic short film "True" that premiered at the 2004 Berlinale and was highly praised by critics.

In 2006, Tykwer finally returned as a feature film director with the eagerly awaited film version of the best-selling novel "Das Parfum – Die Geschichte eines Mörders" ("Perfume – The Story of a Murderer"). Despite ambivalent reviews, the film became an outstanding box office hit and won six German as well as two European film awards.

Tykwer filmed his next project, the thriller "The International" at numerous international locations with a cast of stars including Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film's premiere opened the 2009 Berlinale film festival.

Following the short "Feierlich reist" – part of the film compilation "Deutschland 09" which he also co-produced – Tykwer shot his first feature film completely set in Germany in years: "Drei" ("Three") tells of a Berlin couple – and the fact that both partners unknowingly fall in love with the same man. "Drei" received numerous accolades, including the German Film Awards for Best Editing, Best Lead Actress and Best Director.

Tykwer next teamed up with American filmmakers Andy and Lana Wachowski ("The Matrix") for the epic and star-studded adaptation of the bestselling novel "Cloud Atlas". The lavishly produced drama was released in November 2012 and went on to win five German Film Awards.

Together with his wife Marie Steinmann-Tykwer, Tom Tykwer founded the production company One Fine Day Films in 2008. The aim of the company is to support young African filmmakers in the realisation of their film ideas through mentoring programmes. Among other successful films, David 'Tosh' Gitonga's film "Nairobi Half Life" (2012) was produced by One Fine Day Films - the most successful Kenyan film to date.

In 2012 Tykwer, together with Axel Ranisch, Chris Kraus, Julia von Heinz and Robert Thalheim, released the documentary "Rosakinder" about their common mentor Rosa von Praunheim and their relationship with him. With "Sense 8", an international series for the streaming service Netflix appeared in 2015, in which Tykwer again collaborated with the Wachowski sisters and was involved as co-director as well as in the soundtrack. With "Ein Hologramm für den König" ("A Hologram for the King"), based on the novel by Dave Eggers, another of Tykwer's international works was released in 2016; Hollywood star Tom Hanks played the leading role.

The award-winning television series "Babylon Berlin" (2017-2025), based on the crime novels by Volker Kutscher, marked another major project for Tom Tykwer. Alongside co-creators Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, Tykwer served as director, screenwriter, executive producer, and composer for the elaborate series set in 1920s Berlin. The first two seasons premiered in the fall of 2018, earning Tykwer and Johnny Klimek the German Television Award for Best Music. Additionally, the core team received the Grimme Prize for writing, direction, and film music. A year later, Tykwer, von Borries, and Handloegten were honored with the European Film Prize in the newly created category of Best European Series. The following two seasons were not only huge successes with audiences but also garnered numerous accolades.  

Before embarking on the fifth and final season of "Babylon Berlin" (2025), Tykwer returned to the big screen for the first time in nearly a decade. His family and social drama "Das Licht" will have its world premiere as the opening film at Berlinale 2025, with a theatrical release in Germany scheduled for late March 2025.