Platov was born in Pribilyanskoe (stanitsa in former Starocherkasskaya[3]) and began his service in the Don Cossacks in 1766 becoming an yesaul in 1769.

Between 1774 and 1784 he fought against the Crimean Tatars, in 1774 and again in 1782 serving under Alexander Suvorov in the Kuban Valley, Chechnya and Dagestan.

In 1812, Platov supported General Bagration's 2nd Western Army with a Cossack corps at the Korelichi engagement, at Mir and at Romanovo, providing the rear guard during their retreat towards Mogilyov.

Platov later accompanied emperor Alexander to London where he was awarded a golden sword and an honorary degree by the University of Oxford.

A full-length portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence for the Waterloo Chamber created at Windsor Castle by George IV, then prince regent.

Platov then settled in the Cossack capital of Novocherkassk where he established a school and was head of the local administration.

In Leskov's Levsha (1881), Don Cossack Platov is a prominent figure, even though his portrayal in that folk-styled tale is full of anachronisms.