Raspail was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. A member of the republican Carbonari society, Raspail was imprisoned during Louis Philippe's reign (1830 - 1848) and was a candidate for presidency of the Second Republic in December 1848. However, he was then involved in the attempted revolt of May 15, 1848, and in March 1849 was again imprisoned as a result. After Louis Napoleon's December 2, 1851 coup, his sentence was commuted to exile, from which he returned to France only in 1862. In 1869, during the liberal phase of the Second Empire (1851 - 1870), he was elected deputy from Lyons. He remained a popular republican during the French Third Republic, after the short term Paris Commune in 1871.

His sons, Benjamin (eldest), François, Xavier (youngest) and Émile, were also all notable figures in the Third Republic.

Raspail was one of the founders of the cell theory in biology. He coined the phrase omnis cellula e cellula ("every cell is derived from a [preexisting] cell") later attributed to Rudolf Karl Virchow. He was an early proponent of the use of the microscope in the study of plants. He was also an early advocate of the use of antisepsis and better sanitation and diet.

After the revolution of 1830, Raspail became involved in politics. He was President of the Human Rights Society, and was imprisoned for that role. While in prison, he tended sick inmates, and studied their diseases. He became convinced of the value of camphor, which he believed worked by killing extremely small parasites -- a version of the germ theory of disease.

Raspail was a candidate for the Presidency of the French Second Republic in December 1848, but came in fourth, losing to Louis - Napoléon Bonaparte (Later Napoleon III). He had been involved in the attempted revolt of 15 May 1848, and in March 1849 was again imprisoned as a result. In 1853, Napoleon III commuted his sentence of imprisonment to one of exile. He returned to France from exile in 1862. In 1869 he was elected deputy from Lyons and in 1875 from Marseilles. He remained popular and respected during the French Third Republic. The longest boulevard in Paris, in the VIIe, VIe and XIVe arrondissements, was named Boulevard Raspail in his honor.