With its roots in the New York/New Jersey hardcore scene, the band was formed in New Brunswick, New Jersey in1990 by singer Ari Katz and guitarist Dan Yemin (also of Kid Dynamite, Paint It Black, and Armalite). In contrast to the negative, sometimes violent tone promulgated their New York hardcore contemporaries, lyricist Katz emphasized more positive, personal themes in their two-minute songs. In 1992, Lifetime released their first full length album, entitled Background, that bore only passing resemblance to their later, more melodic work. By 1995, the band achieved some form of stability with the addition of Pete Martin (guitar), David Palaitis (bass), and Scott Golley (drums). That same year, they released their second album, Hello Bastards on Jade Tree Records. Hello Bastards marked a slight shift in direction, incorporating more melodic punk leanings over a driving hardcore tempo. Ari Katz's lyrics, though sometimes undecipherable, dealt mainly with more introspective and personal themes such as relationships and youthful disaffection. Hello Bastards also includes a cover of "It's Not Funny Anymore" by the seminal 1980s alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, hinting at the band's musical influences.

In 1996, Lifetime issued a compilation of their 7" releases and unreleased songs, on Glue Records, also released in Europe by Day After Records. In 1997, the band completed its third full-length Jersey's Best Dancers. With twelve songs clocking in at under 24 minutes, Jersey's Best Dancers continued in the same vein as Hello Bastards. However, after a short tour in support of their new album, Lifetime decided to disband in 1997.

After disbanding, Dan Yemin went on to become a member of two other punk bands, the short-lived Kid Dynamite and Paint It Black. Dave Palaitis, Ari Katz, and his wife Tannis Kristanjson went on to form Zero Zero.

Most recently, The band got together for a series of 3 well-received and long awaited reunion shows over the weekend of Aug.19th to the 21st, 2005. The shows were a result of the cancellation of Hellfest, in which Lifetime was scheduled to play on Saturday August 20th. Two shows took place in Philadelphia, one at The Trocadero Theatre where Lifetime played along with Vision and one on Saturday August 20th at the Starlight Ballroom which featured the reunion of hardcore band 108. The final reunion show was held at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which featured opening bands The Loved Ones and The Bouncing Souls. Some profits from the show went to charities such as New Labor, The OUT Fund, the Nature Conservancy, and Linda Ann's Greyhound Rescue Inc.

On November 14th, 2005, Jade Tree Records announced that Lifetime would be playing 3 more reunion shows in California over a weekend in January. The shows were at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on January 27th, at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim on January 28th, and at Slims in San Francisco on January 29th.

November 17th, 2005 brought the announcement from the band that they were officially reforming. In March 2006, the band announced that they were signing to Decaydence, Pete Wentz's imprint of Fueled by Ramen records. They released their fourth full length, the self-titled Lifetime, on Decaydence in February 2006.