Rufus Lollianus was a member of the gens Hedia Lolliana which probably originated from the region of Liguria, and which had achieved Patrician status by the time that he began his career.
[1] He was the son of Lucius (Hedius Rufus) Lollianus Avitus, who was elected consul ordinarius in AD 144.
A successful imperial candidate for both the offices of Quaestor and Praetor, he was eventually promoted to the rank of Legatus legionis in the Legio XXII Primigenia at Moguntiacum around the year AD 184.
It is speculated that it was during this time that Rufus] Lollianus formed a working relationship with the future emperor Septimius Severus, who was the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis.
He was appointed consul suffectus in around AD 186–188, after which Rufus Lollianus may have been the curator rei publicae Puteolanorum et Veliternorum.