Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba, Giza. His father's name was Yehia Chahine too. He received a diploma in performing arts and started acting in theatre. His first performance was in the play Murtafat w Darag (Heights and Stairs). In 1935, he acted in his first film.

He acted in numerous films, but his most notable role is that of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, a Cairene patriarch, in the Cairo Trilogy films. The three films, Bayn al-Qasrayn (Palace Walk, which is based on the Palace Walk novel) in 1964, Qasr al-Shawq (Palace of Desire) in 1967, and Al-Sukkariya (Sugar Street) in 1973, were set in Cairo and followed the family of Abd al-Jawwad across three generations, from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952. They were well received and successful in Egypt and the Arab world.

Additionally, he has acted in many other successful films. He starred in film director Youssef Chahine's Ibn al-Nile (Son of the Nile) along with Faten Hamama in 1951. He played a leading role in the 1954 film Gaalouni Mujriman (I Have Been Made a Murderer), which was based on a novel by Naguib Mahfouz. In 1957, he starred in La Anam (Sleepless), a film that was chosen as one of the best 150 Egyptian film productions. His last film role was in 1988, in the film Kul Hatha al-Hub (All This Love).

Chahine received several awards for his film roles. In 1993, he received the Sciences and Arts prize. He died at the age of 76, on 18 March 1994