Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel the Elder was born in Jerusalem in the Second Temple period. A great-grandson of Hillel the Elder, he succeeded his father, Rabban Gamliel the Elder, as Nasi of the Sanhedrin some eighteen years before the destruction of the Temple, and was its last Nasi. The Talmud teaches that "Hillel, Shimon, Gamliel and Shimon held the presidency for a hundred years before the destruction".

At the time of the great revolt against Rome he was one of the leaders of Jerusalem, alongside the high priests Chanan ben Chanan and Yehoshua ben Gamla. His son was Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh, and his daughter, Imma Shalom, married Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. He is called "Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel the Elder" or "the martyr" to distinguish him from his grandson of the same name.

Pirkei Avot quotes his teaching: "All my days I grew up among the sages and found nothing better for the body than silence; study is not the main thing, but deeds; and whoever multiplies words brings on sin."

According to tradition he was one of the Ten Martyrs, executed by the Romans around the year 70, together with Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the Kohen Gadol.