A.L. Lovetsky was born in Lovtsy Village, Ryazanskaia Government. He graduated from the Medical-Surgeon Academy in 1812 and became professor of medicine there in 1826. He read on natural history since 1824 and on zoology since 1835 in Moscow University. His researches were on zoology, mineralogy, physiology, agriculture; he belongs to first generation of Russian ichthyologists. He also was a practicing physician and studied human helminth diseases.
Lovetsky was head of the Natural History Department since 1829 and director of the Museum since 1834 up to his death. As a dean, he published a textbook of his own on natural history (1832) and translated Milne-Edwards' Zoology (1838). He attempted more detailed systematization of collections by dividing them into two parts. One of them called 'systematic' was used for teaching, while another called 'native' was used for investigations on animals of Russia.