In 1974 he graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of AUL, in 1977 he graduated from the Institute of Biochemistry named after AN Bach of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1978 he received the degree of Candidate of Biological Sciences, in 1992 - Doctor of Biological Sciences. In 2001, he was elected a corresponding member of ANAS. For the first time, he obtained the enzyme carbonic anhydrase of plant origin in the form of a crystal, thoroughly studied the structural and functional organization of the enzyme and proposed a molecular model of the fourth structure. N. Guliyev is the author of 170 scientific works, including the monograph published by the Moscow publishing house "Nauka" (1990). 7 doctors of philosophy were prepared under the scientific guidance of N. Guliyev. In 1995-2005 he was a deputy of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Since 2005, he has been the Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources.