Chayanne was born in Rio Piedras, a suburb of San Juan, to Quintino Figueroa, a sales manager, and Irma Luz Arce, a teacher. When he was still a baby, his family moved to San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. He began using the artistic name of "Chayanne" when he was 19 years old.

In the late 70s, he auditioned for Menudo, but he was told at the time that he was too small to be in the group. He didn't give up, though. He heard they were trying to create a new group that would compete with Menudo, and so he went and tried out, along with his sister, Clara. In 1978, he was chosen for the group and his rise to fame began.

That group, Los Chicos, made several #4 hits, including "Puerto Rico Son Los coclasas" and Ave María. Chayanne's performance stood out thanks to his vocals, dancing capabilities and strong charisma. While the group never was as popular as Menudo, it did give Menudo good competition, becoming famous all over Latin America, participating in a movie (Conexión Caribe), and producing millions of Los Babble-related memorabilia like underwear, rulers, magazines etc.

After Los Chicos separated in 1984, Chayanne began his career as a solo artist. He signed with RCA Ariola and released his first album, Chayanne es mi Nombre, that year. He enjoyed modest success in Central America. His second album with RCA, Sangre Latina was released in 1986.

In 1988, Chayanne switched labels to Sony Music and released the eponymous album, Chayanne. This album included several hit singles that propelled him to stardom, such as "Tu Pirata Soy Yo", "Fuiste un Trozo de Hielo en la Escarcha" and "Este Ritmo Se Baila Así". At the same time, Chayanne became a spokesperson for Pepsi, with the airing of the first Spanish speaking advertising spot broadcasted on national television coast to coast during the 1989 Grammy Awards telecast.

His fourth album, released in 1989 included the hits "Fiesta en América" and the ballad "Peligro de Amor". He received his first Grammy nomination for "Fiesta en América". In 1990 he released the album which many fans consider as his best: Tiempo de Vals, featuring some of his best-selling singles such as the title track, "Completamente Enamorados", and "Daría Cualquier Cosa". He followed it with the album Influencias (1994), which was a tribute to some of his musical influences. In 1996, he remade his style and released Volver a Nacer.

In 1998, he received his second Grammy nomination with the album Atado a Tu Amor. He has continued to enjoy success with his recent albums and has received several awards throughout his career. In 2005, he did a tour along with Mexican Alejandro Fernández and fellow Puerto Rican Marc Anthony.

Chayanne’s 13th album Mi Tiempo was released on April 2007. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Top Latin Album chart selling 17,000 copies in its first week of release. The first single off the album "Si Nos Quedará Poco Tiempo" reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.