The second son of the 26th king Seong, he assumed the throne after the death of his older brother and 27th king Wideok, but reigned only briefly before his own death. The Samguk Yusa describes him as the son of Wideok, but this is considered an error.

His reign saw major inroads from the neighbouring Silla and Goguryeo kingdoms, with Silla occupying the present-day Seoul area and trading directly with China. Baekje's commercial positions along the Yellow Sea coast were now dominated by Goguryeo, trading outposts in China were lost to the Sui Dynasty's unification, and Japan's political centralization outgrew Baekje's influence as well. The decline of external commerce and influence led to infighting among the nobility.

He was succeeded by his son Beop.

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《三國史記》記載惠王為聖王第二子，即二十七代王威德王之弟。《日本書紀》記載惠王是威德王之弟。《東國通鑑》則記載惠王為威德王第二子。《三國遺事》亦記載惠王為威德王之子。《隋書》百濟傳則無惠王。

根據《日本書紀》的記載，在聖王陣亡之後，他曾被威德王派往倭國報告此事。威德王死後，由惠王繼位。在位期間正值百濟國力衰退，內有貴族之間的紛亂，對外方面，今首爾之地為新羅所侵奪，黃海沿岸則受高句麗掌控，因而失去直接與中國貿易的管道，對倭國（日本）政局的影響力亦大不如前。