He studied up to Class 6th in Cuttack's Pyarimohan Academy and later attended Mayo College, Ajmer, from where he passed his Indian School Certificate examination in 1971.

[4] While pursuing his postgraduate studies in chemistry, he left to join the State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in 1976 and worked there until 1979.

[9] Patnaik was transferred from his post as Commissioner of Police after the Azad Maidan riots and was succeeded by Satyapal Singh in 2012.

[14] On 30 October 2019, Arup Patnaik was inducted as a Co-Opted Member of the House Committee of the Odisha Assembly to look into aspects of environmental pollution in the state.

[15] Arup Patnaik is married to Vidhurita, a former Senior Executive with M/s Bennett Coleman and Company Limited The Times Group and has two children, Chirantan and Tanmay.

[citation needed] Along with neurosurgeon B. K. Misra and cardiac surgeon Ramakanta Panda, he established the Konark Cancer Foundation for patients coming to the Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer treatment, providing them with financial and logistical support such as food, shelter, and medications.