Butyrskaya was born in Moscow in 1972.

In 1998, she posed for the Russian edition of Playboy magazine. In 2006, she married a hockey player, Vadim Khomitski, who at the time was signed by the NHL team Dallas Stars (in October 2006 he was assigned to their farm club, Iowa Stars of the AHL, and in December re-assigned to the Russian Super League team HC Khimik Voskresensk). As of 2010, he plays in Russia for Khimik's successor team Atlant Moscow Oblast. He is 10 years younger than her. On the morning of April 16, 2007, Butyrskaya and Khomitski welcomed their first child, a son named Vladislav (Vlad for short.) At his birth, he weighed-in at 7.7 pounds and was 20 inches long. In May 2009 their second child, a daughter, was born. Butyrskaya currently coaches at the Olympic Reserve Skating School in Moscow.

Butyrskaya originally competed for the Soviet Union. After its dissolution, she began representing Russia.

As a teen, she was replaced by the Soviet Figure Skating Federation, and then lost coach after coach while struggling to finance her skating following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Her persistence paid off when she defeated defending world champion Michelle Kwan at the 1999 World Championships. She received all first place ordinals in both the short and the long programs at the 1999 worlds, dominating the competition in an upset victory. She was never able to win a second world title, or an olympic medal, although she did win the short program at the 2000 Worlds, and captured her second bronze medal. She ended her amateur career at the 2002 World Championships, withdrawing from the competition after skating poorly in the qualifying round.

Butyrskaya was known for the beauty of her triple loop and true, outside-edge triple lutz. She was also known for a combination spin that involved clasping her arms and hands behind her back while transitioning to back camel, sit and scratch spins. She often participated in choreographing her programs and in designing her costumes. She often skated better in practice sessions than in competitive events, however, as she frequently succumbed to nervous tension when competing. In particular, Butyrskaya's car was blown up by the Russian mafia in December 1999, and speculation followed that the ensuing emotional distress caused her to lose the 1999 Russian Championships.

Besides the technical elements of figure skating, Butyrskaya won adulation for her artistry and ubridled femininity, which, especially toward the end of her professional career, was often in stark contrast to competitors half her age. She herself described her skating style as "a Woman on the ice". In 2000, the New York Times described her short program (Sarah Brightman's Scene d'Amour) as "flowing, lyrical skating...a performance of rare elegance and beauty."

1906–07: Madge Syers-Cave • 1908–11: Lily Kronberger • 1912–14: Opika von Méray Horváth • 1922–26: Herma Szabo • 1927–36: Sonja Henie • 1937: Cecilia Colledge • 1938–39: Megan Taylor • 1947–48: Barbara Ann Scott • 1949–50: Alena Vrzáňová • 1951: Jeannette Altwegg • 1952: Jacqueline du Bief • 1953: Tenley Albright • 1954: Gundi Busch • 1955: Tenley Albright • 1956–60: Carol Heiss • 1962–64: Sjoukje Dijkstra • 1965: Petra Burka • 1966–68: Peggy Fleming • 1969–70: Gabriele Seyfert • 1971–72: Beatrix Schuba • 1973: Karen Magnussen • 1974: Christine Errath • 1975: Dianne de Leeuw • 1976: Dorothy Hamill • 1977: Linda Fratianne • 1978: Anett Pötzsch • 1979: Linda Fratianne • 1980: Anett Pötzsch • 1981: Denise Biellmann • 1982: Elaine Zayak • 1983: Rosalynn Sumners • 1984–85: Katarina Witt • 1986: Debi Thomas • 1987–88: Katarina Witt • 1989: Midori Ito • 1990: Jill Trenary • 1991–92: Kristi Yamaguchi • 1993: Oksana Baiul • 1994: Yuka Sato • 1995: Chen Lu • 1996: Michelle Kwan • 1997: Tara Lipinski • 1998: Michelle Kwan • 1999: Maria Butyrskaya • 2000–01: Michelle Kwan • 2002: Irina Slutskaya • 2003: Michelle Kwan • 2004: Shizuka Arakawa • 2005: Irina Slutskaya • 2006: Kimmie Meissner • 2007: Miki Ando • 2008: Mao Asada  • 2009: Kim Yu-Na  • 2010: Mao Asada

1930: Fritzi Burger · 1931–1936: Sonja Henie · 1937–1939: Cecilia Colledge · 1947–1948: Barbara Ann Scott · 1949: Eva Pawlik · 1950: Alena Vrzáňová · 1951: Jeannette Altwegg · 1952: Jeannette Altwegg · 1953: Valda Osborn · 1954: Gundi Busch · 1955: Hanna Eigel · 1956: Ingrid Wendl · 1957: Hanna Eigel · 1958: Ingrid Wendl · 1959: Hanna Walter · 1960–1964: Sjoukje Dijkstra · 1965–1966: Regine Heitzer · 1967: Gabriele Seyfert · 1968: Hana Mašková · 1969–1970: Gabriele Seyfert · 1971–1972: Beatrix Schuba · 1973–1975: Christine Errath · 1976: Dianne de Leeuw · 1977–1980: Anett Pötzsch · 1981: Denise Biellmann · 1982: Claudia Kristofics-Binder · 1983–1988: Katarina Witt · 1989: Claudia Leistner · 1990: Evelyn Großmann · 1991–1995: Surya Bonaly · 1996–1997: Irina Slutskaya · 1998–1999: Maria Butyrskaya · 2000–2001: Irina Slutskaya · 2002: Maria Butyrskaya · 2003: Irina Slutskaya · 2004: Júlia Sebestyén · 2005–2006: Irina Slutskaya · 2007–2008: Carolina Kostner · 2009: Laura Lepistö · 2010: Carolina Kostner

1911—1915: Ksenia Caesar • 1993: Maria Butyrskaya • 1994: Olga Markova • 1995—1999: Maria Butyrskaya • 2000—2002: Irina Slutskaya • 2003—2004: Elena Sokolova • 2005: Irina Slutskaya • 2006: Elena Sokolova • 2007—2008: Ksenia Doronina • 2009: Adelina Sotnikova • 2010: Ksenia Makarova