Born in Bucharest, his parents were Jean Petroveanu and his wife Maria (née Algazi).
In 1944, Petroveanu enrolled in the French-Romanian section of the University of Bucharest's literature faculty, graduating in 1947.
That year, he published his first book, Pagini critice, a collection of articles and reviews he had written for Studentul român, Flacăra, Contemporanul, Viața Românească, Steaua, Scînteia and Gazeta literară between 1947 and 1957.
In collaboration, he supervised an excellent edition of George Bacovia's works, which appeared as Opere in 1978.
[1] He was married to poet Veronica Porumbacu;[1] the couple died in the 1977 Vrancea earthquake while on a visit to Baconsky.