Henryk Oskar Kolberg was born in Przysucha, the son of Juliusz Kolberg, a professor of the Warsaw University, and Fryderyka nee Mercoeur. His family's acquaintances included Samuel Linde, Mikołaj Chopin (father of Frédéric Chopin), and Kazimierz Brodziński.

He is best known for his work titled Lud (re-published as Dzieła Wszystkie), a compilation of folk traditions from all the Polish regions. Between 1857–1890 he published 33 volumes, and after his death, a further 3 volumes were published. The compilation contains 12,000 folk songs, 1,250 folk tales, 670 fairy tales, 2,700 proverbs, 350 riddles, 15 folk spectacles and many other ethnographic documents.

Kolberg also compiled some ethnographic information on neighboring regions. He died in Kraków.