Hutchinson was born in Cambridge, and graduated from the university there in 1924. He was senior lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand (1926–28) before emigrating to America where he served as Sterling Professor of Zoology at Yale from 1945 until 1971. He received American citizenship in 1941.

Hutchinson's most important work was concerned with aquatic ecosystems and the physical, chemical, meteorological, and biological conditions of lakes. He made particular studies of the classification and distribution of aquatic bugs (Hemiptera), and investigated water mixing and movement in stratified lakes, proving the circulation of phosphorus. He also studied lake sediments and investigated certain aspects of evolution. His work took him to many different regions, including the lakes of western Transvaal, Tibet, and northeastern North America. Hutchinson published much of his life's work in his A Treatise on Limnology (3 vols., 1957–75); a fourth volume was completed shortly before his death and published in 1993.