In 1586, the twelve-year-old Dorothea Maria was chosen by her father as Abbess of Gernrode and Frose as the successor to her elder sister Agnes Hedwig.

In 1593 she was relieved of her post as abbess in order to marry John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar.

Her successor as abbess was her niece, Sophie Elisabeth, eldest daughter of her half-brother John George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.

She and her husband had twelve children (the last one was born after his death)[1][better source needed]:[2] Dorothea Maria died of injuries sustained while riding a horse.

On this occasion, the Fruitbearing Society was created and her younger brother, Louis of Anhalt-Köthen, was appointed its first leader.