Mustafa Mardanov was born on March 10, 1894 in the city of Merend in Iranian Azerbaijan. In 1916 he graduated from the Tiflis Men's Gymnasium.

From 1922 to 1924 he studied at the Moscow State Institute of Theater Arts. Stage activity began in 1910 in the Tiflis Muslim Drama Circle. His first roles in the theater were the roles of Haji Ganbar ("From the rain and under the downpour" by Najaf-bek Vezirov), Karamali ("Haji Kara" Mirza Fatali Akhundova), Adham ("Nadir Shah" Nariman Narimanov).