He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and his first wife, Marie Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt.

After the death of his father in 1706, Ernst Ludwig inherited the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen jointly with his brother, Frederick Wilhelm, and his half-brother, Anton Ulrich.

This introduction of primogeniture failed, however; his brothers managed to govern again after Ernst Ludwig's death, acting as guardians for his sons.

Ernst Ludwig married Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, his cousin in Gotha on 19 September 1704.

They had five children: In Schloss Ehrenburg, Coburg on 3 June 1714, Ernst Ludwig married his second wife, Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg.