His grandfather Ouyang Zhonghu (Chinese: 欧阳中鹄) was a scholar who served as governor of Guilin Prefecture during the Qing dynasty.

[5] He returned to China in 1911 and founded the New Play Comrade Society (新剧同志会) with his Spring Willow colleague Lu Jingruo (陆镜若).

He also adapted more than 50 traditional stories into Peking opera, including many from the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber.

[4][3] In 1918, he was invited by Zhang Jian to establish an actors' school and the Gengsu Theatre (更俗剧场) in Nantong, Jiangsu.

[5] During this period, he collaborated with like-minded dramatists and directors Hong Shen, Ying Yunwei, Zhang Shichuan, Zheng Zhengqiu, and Zhou Jianyun.

[6] He did help out on several occasions, but at the same time wrote three films for the rival China Sun Motion Picture Company from 1926 to 1928.

[6] He made three films with Mingxing: Qingming Festival (清明时节), Xiao Lingzi (小玲子), and Red Haitang (海棠红).

[2] During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ouyang Yuqian spent most of his time in Guilin, Guangxi in southwest China, which was largely free from Japanese occupation.

In 1944, he and Tian Han organized the First Southwest Opera Expo in Guilin, which lasted three months and attracted almost a thousand performers.

[2] After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, he returned to Shanghai in 1946 and served as the playwright-director of New China Drama Society (新中国剧社).

Because of the Chinese Civil War, Ouyang left again for Hong Kong, and worked as the screenwriter-director of Yonghua Film Company.