Born in Candelario, Spain, Sánchez-Bayo got his master's degree in environmental sciences at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in 1980, and his doctorate in ecology in 1985, also at UAM, for a thesis entitled "Analysis of the spatial and temporal organisation of a bird community in riverine forests of the Duero basin". In 1990 he received a diploma in applied science, specializing in arid lands management, from the University of New South Wales.
