He made his debut in Convorbiri literare ("Literary Conversations") (1871), with the comedy Fata de birău ("The Mayor's Daughter").

At the end of 1874, he settled in Bucharest, where he became secretary of the Hurmuzachi Collection Committee, then he became a professor, and then an editor of the newspaper Timpul ("The Time").

Slavici studied at the local Orthodox school in Șiria and various other institutions in Transylvania, taught in either Hungarian or German and becomes a member of the Romania Lecture Society.

This proved to be a decisive moment in the life of the future writer, as Slavici had a chance to meet Mihai Eminescu, the most important Romanian poet, who was studying at the University of Vienna.

It included Moara cu noroc (The Lucky Mill) and Budulea Taichii, two of Slavici's best-known and crafted works.

With the outbreak of World War I, his writings at the newspaper brought him into conflict with other intellectuals who supported the Triple Entente powers.

The Romanian legitimate government took refuge in Iași, with the Central Powers establishing a puppet administration for the occupied lands.

After the German withdrawal in November 1918, he was put on trial for his wartime activities and spent one year in jail, while his reputation with the intelligentsia was tarnished.