Born in the Jiangsu province, Wang grew up in an artistic, scholarly environment. His grandfather was a prime minister in the late Ming dynasty, and his father was a Hanlin Academy editor for the court, who had studied with Tung Ch'i-ch'ang. After learning painting and calligraphy at a young age, Wang worked as a government official. However he fell ill due to exhaustion on a trip to Nanking in 1630. Wang returned to his homeland and immersed himself in art, creating numerous works. Wang's works place him in an elevated group known as the Four Wangs, also part of the Six Masters of the early Qing period.

Wang painted After Wang Wei's "Snow Over Rivers and Mountains", which can be viewed at the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Wang was the grandfather and tutor of Wang Yuanqi (王原祁; 1642–1715), who was also a notable landscape painter and a member of the Six Masters of the early Qing period.

王時敏擅畫山水，少時學董其昌，並臨摹家藏宋元名作，以黃公望為宗，筆墨含蓄，渾厚清逸，唯構圖略少變化。王時敏開創了山水畫的「婁東派」，對清代畫壇影響很大。他與王鑑、王翬、王原祁並稱「四王」，加上惲壽平和吳歷，合稱「清六家」。王翬、吳歷皆出其門下，孫王原祁亦得其指授。

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