He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of the German count Henry of Berg-Schelklingen.

The first major conflict with the high duke took place during 1140–1141, when his younger half-brothers Bolesław IV the Curly and Mieszko III together with their mother but without Władysław's knowledge divided between them the lands of Łęczyca, which were held only as a wittum by Bolesław's widow Salomea for life and should revert to Władysław's Seniorate Province upon her death.

On 27 July 1144, the Dowager Duchess Salomea died and High Duke Władysław II incorporated the Łęczyca Land into the Seniorate Province as intended by his father's testament.

This provoked the strong opposition from his Silesian voivode Piotr Włostowic, who support the interests of the junior dukes in order to maintain his own power and position.

This time, Władysław could not count on his Kievan allies, because they were busy with their own issues; in fact the high duke had sent some of his forces, led by his eldest son Bolesław, to support Great Prince Vsevolod.

Nevertheless, Władysław was confident of his victory and it initially seemed that success was on his side, as Bolesław IV and Mieszko III, fearing clashes in an open field, escaped to Poznań.

The former high duke and his family were forced to escape to save their lives, first to Bohemia and later to the Kaiserpfalz of Altenburg in Germany, under the protection of King Conrad III.

Urged by his brother-in-law Władysław, King Conrad III of Germany attempted to restore the former high duke to the Polish throne.

The dispute between Władysław and the junior dukes remained unresolved as King Conrad III was busy with the preparations for the Second Crusade to the Holy Land.

However, during this trip Mieszko III politically and militarily supported some Slavic tribes in an effort to protect Polish interests in the Sprevane lands against claims raised by the ambitious Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony.

Finally, they made an agreement, which was confirmed by the marriage of the junior dukes' sister Judith with Albert's eldest son Otto.

Meanwhile, Frederick had to secure his rule in the Kingdom of Italy and his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor, wherefore he forged an alliance with Margrave Henry II of Austria, a scion of the House of Babenberg and brother of Władysław's wife Agnes.

Only renewed Imperial pressure enabled Władysław's sons Bolesław the Tall and Mieszko IV Tanglefoot to come into their inheritance four years later, when the junior dukes finally returned Silesia to their nephews in 1163.

In 1166 Mieszko III and his brothers started another Prussian crusade, whereby Duke Henry of Sandomierz was killed in battle in October of that year.

Before his departure, and in case of his death, he had left his duchy to his youngest brother Casimir II the Just, who by their father's testament had remained without lands.

This decision sparked the rebellion of Casimir II, which was supported by his brother Mieszko III; the magnate Jaksa of Miechów; Sviatoslav, son of Piotr Włostowic; Archbishop Jan I of Gniezno; and Bishop Gedko of Kraków.

In February 1168 the rebels gathered at Jędrzejów, were Mieszko III was elected high duke and vested Casimir II with Sandomierz.

In order to prevent another Imperial intervention, High Duke Bolesław IV sent Mieszko III to Magdeburg, with the sum of 8,000 pieces of silver as a tribute to the Emperor and the promise to resolve this conflict soon.

After his brother Bolesław IV died on 3 April 1173, Mieszko III became the new high duke of Poland (dux Totius Poloniae) according to the principle of agnatic seniority.

For Odon, the main reason for his rebellion was the favoritism of Mieszko to the offspring of his second marriage and the attempts of the high duke to force him to become a priest so as to eliminate him from succession.

At the same time, Casimir II the Just, the clear head of the rebellion, made a divisionary treaty with his allies: all of Silesia was granted to Duke Bolesław the Tall and Greater Poland was given to Odon.

After they learned of this agreement, both Mieszko Tanglefoot and Jarosław sided with the high duke and rebelled against Bolesław the Tall, who now, busy fighting with his brother and son, lost the opportunity to gain Kraków and obtain the Seniorate Province for himself.

During these events, and for unknown reasons, High Duke Casimir II the Just remained in total passivity; thanks to this, Mieszko had the opportunity to recover all Greater Poland.

In 1184 he tried to forge an alliance with Frederick Barbarossa's son, King Henry VI of Germany, offering him a large sum of silver.

After his failure with the German king, Mieszko decided to take control over Masovia and Kuyavia, then ruled by his nephew Leszek, the only surviving son of Bolesław IV.

In 1191 the foreign policy of High Duke Casimir II the Just triggered dissatisfaction in the Lesser Poland nobility, led by Mieszko's former governor Henry Kietlicz.