Severtsov was born in Khvoshchevatovo, Zemlyansky district, Voronezh, where his father Aleksey Petrovich was a retired guard officer who had served in the Patriotic War of 1812, losing an arm in the Battle of Borodino.

and studied at the Moscow University where he was influenced by Karl Rouillier who considered what Haeckel called as ecology as "general zoology".

[1] On the expedition to the Syr Darya, he was captured by Kokand people near Fort Perovsky and freed only after a month.

He made scientific studies, collecting nearly 12 thousand specimens during this period and received an honorary doctoral degree.

While everyone extricated themselves and attempted to find a warm place nearby, he delayed by searching for his portfolio and collapsed.

[1] The Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow is named after his son Alexei Severtsov (1866-1936).