He was born in Kara Hisâr-i Sâhib (present day Afyonkarahisar) as a son of Ahmed Efendi. He studied in the Bursa Military High School (Bursa Askerî İdadisi ). After graduating from military highschool, he entered the Ottoman Military Academy (Mekteb-i Füsûn-u Harbiyye-i Şâhâne ) In 1898 he graduated academy and joined the Ottoman military as an Second Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı Sani ). During World War I, he served for the army in the Caucasus and Galicia fronts. Ali Cetinkaya died in Istanbul in the year of his 71st birthday.