Lu Zhaolin was born in Fanyang (near present-day Beijing). He studied under Cao Xian (曹憲; fl. 605-649), the master of Wen Xuan studies, and Wang Yifang (王義方; 615-669), a famous scholar of the Chinese classics. He worked in the archive of Prince Li Yuanyu (died 665), the seventeenth son of the founding Emperor Gaozu of the Tang dynasty. Lu was known for his erudition, and was said to have exhaustively studied the large collection of books in the prince's library. In 666, he was a member of the entourage of Emperor Gaozong on the imperial pilgrimage to Mount Tai.