Huisgen was born in Gerolstein in Rhineland-Palatinate and studied in Munich under the supervision of Heinrich Otto Wieland.

He returned to the University of Munich in 1952, succeeding Wieland,[2] and he remained dedicated to research long after attaining emeritus status there in 1988.

[4][5] The Huisgen reaction is of paramount importance to the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, such as vitamins, alkaloids and antibiotics.

[6] He was also a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He was an Honorary Member of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker and the Chemical Society of Japan.