Born in Kristianstad, he matriculated at Lund University in 1758, where he graduated as a filosofie magister in 1766.

He received the position of docent of chemistry at Lund in 1766, and of natural history in 1767.

Retzius was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1782.

Disciples of Anders Jahan Retzius include the botanist Carl Adolph Agardh, the zoologist and archaeologist Sven Nilsson, the botanist and entomologist Carl Fredrik Fallén, and the entomologist Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt.

He was also an influence on the botanist Elias Fries who arrived in Lund by the time Retzius was already an old man.