He was born in Kannimahara, Gampaha District, Sri Lanka and was a contemporary of Mahagama Sekara having studied in the same school.

K. Jayatilake was one of Sri Lanka's topmost creative writers of the modern period of Sinhala literature.

Using his close observations of village life, Jayatilake was a pioneer in the Sinhalese realistic novel.

His award-winning novel and acknowledged masterpiece, Charitha Thunak, published in 1963, begins with a scene of peasants working in the field, evoking the intimate relationship between the villager and the earth.

In this and other novels, Jayatilake reminds us also of the close-knit society of the village that is guided by common values.