His father was a leading noble in the Mughal Empire and ruled Farrukhabad as his ancestral domain.

[1][3] Early in his reign, he was forced to seek the aid of the ruler of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula in 1773 to expel the Marathas who had attacked Farrukhabad.

Hamilton held Muzaffar Jang in low opinion, stating him to be a weak and ignorant young man.

The British Governor-General of India, Lord Cornwallis considered Muzaffar Jang to be "either a madman or an idiot".

[9] Muzaffar Jang died on 22 October 1796, allegedly poisoned by his eldest son Rustam Ali Khan.