Born Imran Pal in Madison, Wisconsin, United States to Anil Pal, a software engineer, and Nuzhat Khan, a psychologist. Imran's grandfather was a Bengali who married a British woman. Imran's father is a Bengali Hindu who studied with Mansoor Khan at IIT Bombay and now works as a senior manager at Yahoo in California. Imran khan's mother is a Muslim from a film family, daughter of the director-producer Nasir Hussain, sister of director-producer Mansoor Khan and cousin of actor Aamir Khan. Imran Khan is an American citizen by birth. Khan's parents divorced when he was still a toddler, after which his mother moved to Mumbai. In an interview, Imran Khan called his step-father, Raj Zutshi, as the father figure during his growing years. He was enrolled at Bombay Scottish School, where he was subjected to corporal punishments such as caning. According to Imran Khan, he developed a stammer, his grades fell and his academic career went into a "strong decline" due to his inability to cope with his new environment and radically changed family situation; he became nervous and developed facial tics. Imran Khan then moved to Sunnyvale, California, where he lived with his father and attended Fremont High School. Upon graduation, he aspired to become a film director, and went to Los Angeles to pursue a degree in filmmaking at the Los Angeles branch of the New York Film Academy.Studying direction, writing and cinematography, Khan was inspired by writer Roald Dahl. After receiving his degree, he ventured into market research and advertising.He eventually returned to Mumbai and trained at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute. While training at the acting institute, Imran Khan began networking and met writer-director Abbas Tyrewala, who offered him the lead role in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008). After producer Jhamu Sugandh experienced financial difficulties they offered the script to Aamir Khan, who agreed to finance the film. Then, the romantic comedy received positive reviews and was a commercial success, earning ₹830 million (US$10 million) worldwide.
Apart from acting in films, Imran Khan is a social activist, and has written columns for the Hindustan Times. He is a supporter of PETA "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” and has appeared in events organised for the group.