Born on November 14, 1924 at Patna, he did his D. Phil in 1958 from Oxford University under the able guidance of Prof. Hamilton A. R. Gibb.
Dr. Arzoo, appointed as lecturer in the Department of Arabic at AMU in 1953, became Reader in Islamic Studies and in 1968 he became Professor and Chairman in the Department of Arabic and Dean, Faculty of Arts in 1975.
Prof. Mukhtaruddin Arzoo was appointed as founding Vice Chancellor of Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic and Persian University in Patna.
During his lifetime, Prof. Mukhtaruddin has received many honours and awards. He received the Certificate of Honour from President of India, Ghalib Award in 1983 and Sir Syed Lifetime Achievement Award from the AMU Alumni Association of New York, Tristate in 2007.
He was a widely travelled scholar and visited Germany, France, Egypt, Turkey, Syria. Lebanon and Iraq for educational purposes.