Robert Szereszewski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1936. He immigrated to Eretz Yisrael (Mandatory Palestine) with his mother in 1946. Szereszewski earned a bachelor's and master's degree in economics from the Hebrew University and a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Upon receiving his doctorate in 1964 Szereszewski joined the Hebrew University with a joint appointment in the Department of Economics and the Department of Asian and African Studies.

His primary research interests were growth and development, with a focus on post-colonial West African countries, particularly Ghana. He also studied the Jewish economy in the Land of Israel, and his work in this field laid the quantitative foundation for subsequent research on the economy of the Jewish community during the years of the British Mandate.

Robert Szereszewski was killed in battle in Jerusalem on June 5, 1967.