Márton Szilágyi was born in Gyula on 9 November, 1965.

• Elementary school: Cegléd, Szekszárd
• Secondary school: Szekszárd, Budapest
• General Certificate of Secondary Education: 1984, Budapest
• 1985–1990: university studies at Eötvös Lóránd University, Faculty of Humanities, Hungarian Language and Literature – History
• 1990: Degree in Hungarian Language and Literature – History
•          (Degree in Secondary Education)

• 1990–1993: He was awarded with doctoral scholarship by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and as a PhD-scholar he worked at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Lóránd University. (Supervisor: Professor Ferenc Bíró)
• 1990: one-semester scholarship at the University of Vienna (Universität Wien)
• 1993–1997: Assistant Lecturer at the Department of 18th–19th Century Hungarian Literature of Eötvös Lóránd University
• 1997:  obtained his PhD degree; title of PhD dissertation: Kármán József és Pajor Gáspár Urániája. The dissertation was published in Debrecen in 1998; second edition in 1999.
• 1997–2001: Senior lecturer at Eötvös Lóránd University
• 1998–2001: Széchenyi Professorial Fellowship
• 2001–2013: Associate professor at Eötvös Lóránd University
• 2002: visiting professor at Humboldt-Universität (Berlin) for a semester
• 2002-2004: visiting professor at Finno-Ugric Institute of University of Vienna (Institut für Finno-Ugristik der Universität Wien) for four semesters
• 2006: He was granted with Bolyai Scholarship for three years by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The work he did under scholarship period was rewarded by certificate of merit.
• 2009: habilitation at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Lóránd University
• 2010: received Martinkó András-prize, which is awarded by the 19th Century Department of Institute of Literary Studies of Hungarian Academy of Sciences for the best professional publication of the year.
• 2010-2011: visiting professor at the Institute of European Comparative Language and Literary Studies of University of Vienna (Institut der Europäischen Vergleichenden Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (Abteilung Finno-Ugristik der Universitat Wien) for two semesters
• 2011: obtained the degree „Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences”;
•  title of dissertation: The career of Csokonai Vitéz Mihály (Social historical contexts for a literary career)
• 2013: Professor and Head of Department of 18th–19th Century Hungarian Literature
• 2014: received Artisjus-award for his Csokonai-monography;
• title of monography: The poet as social phenomenon (A költő mint társadalmi jelenség)
• From 2014: President of Textological Commission at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• From 2016: Editor-in-Chief of a literary journal called Irodalomismeret
• Member of the Literary Commission and elected representative of doctors at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
• 2017: visiting professor at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.

• Fejezetek a 18–19. századi magyar irodalomból, világirodalmi tükörben
• Az írói szerep mikrotörténete