Saif breathed his last at the United Hospital around 12:05am on Monday, said Pias Majid, a spokesman for the Bangla Academy.
Born in 1942 in Dhaka, the poet used to write under the pen name of Hayat Saif. His real name was Saiful Islam Khan.
He started his journey as an author in the 1960s. He shot to fame with a poem published in the then Samakal in 1962.
He has 15 published books, including eight collections of poems and two collections of essays. He had a huge numbers of poems and articles published in periodicals. Some of his books had also been translated into English and Spanish.
His collection of literary essays titled ‘Ukti o Upalabdhi’ was published in 1992.
Hayat Saif received the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, in 2018.
He studied English literature at the University of Dhaka and served as a member and acting chairman of the National Board of Revenue.