Mahmud Karimov was born in Yerevan and graduated from the physics faculty of Azerbaijan State University.

He headed the Radiation Research Sector for a long time and in 2001, was elected a full member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

Karimov collaborated with the International Atomic Energy Agency and worked on several projects related to radiation research.

He worked as the president of the National Academy of Sciences, the chairman of the Republican Council for the Organization and Coordination of Scientific Research.

He died on February 10, 2013, from a heart failure attack in one of the clinics in Istanbul, where he was urgently delivered by a special flight from Baku for emergency medical care.