It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death in March 2017.

Sentai Filmworks released an English dub of the anime series and OVA on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.

As the cast tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, they must also face the additional threats of societal collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, and the possible decay of their own moral codes.

Later, they hole up at a mall, travel through a police station, and eventually make their way to an elementary school that is supposedly a safe zone.

[19] The series is also published in Spain by Glénat España,[20] in Germany by Carlsen, in Italy, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia by Panini Comics, in Canada and France for French-language publication by Pika Édition, in Poland by Waneko,[21] and in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media.

[34] The English dub of the series aired on Anime Network's VOD service from March 10, 2011 to May 26, 2011, and was made available on Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and Apple's iTunes Store on May 27, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively.

[35] An original video animation episode, titled "Drifters of the Dead", was bundled on Blu-ray with the limited edition release of the seventh volume of the manga on April 26, 2011.

[56] For the anime adaptation, Chris Beveridge from Mania.com comments on the first episode, "There's a lot to like here if you're looking for something beyond the usual high school dramas and comedies of the last few years.

"[57] Carlo Santos of Anime News Network states that, "Other recent zombie works in Western entertainment have tried to play it ironic, or postmodernist, or just plain silly, but this one goes for straight-up horror—and pulls it off admirably.

"[58] However, Zac Bertschy of the same website, states for this episode that, "It just could've easily been written by a script generator or a horror fan with 19 minutes to kill.

[60] On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Highschool of the Dead among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.

Highschool of the Dead content has been featured in the video games Lollipop Chainsaw, Queen's Blade Limit Break and Taimanin RPG.