Huang Shuxian was born in 1954 in Yangzhong, Jiangsu. He graduated from Nanjing University. In 1998 he became the deputy secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee of Jiangsu province and the head of the province's department of Supervision. In February 2001, Huang became Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Supervision.
Huang was a member of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Central Commissions for Discipline Inspection, and deputy secretary since 2007. He was a member of the 18th Central Committee and a member of the 19th CPC Central Committee.
Huang was Minister of Supervision and Director of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention from 2013 to 2016. In 2016, Huang was named Minister of Civil Affairs and reelected in 2018.