In 1123, he succeeded his elder brother Henry as Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona which he held until his retirement in 1135.
About 1100 he established the County of Kraiburg on the inherited estates of his wife Uta, daughter of Burgrave Ulric of Passau.
Unlike his father, Engelbert II was a loyal supporter of the ruling Salian dynasty and also a fierce opponent of Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg in the yet unresolved Investiture Controversy.
He stood as guarantor of German king Henry V at his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor in February 1111 and witnessed the Concordat of Worms with Pope Callixtus II in September 1122.
In the same year his elder brother Henry IV was created Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona, and upon his death in 1123 Engelbert II succeeded him.