Christian Augustus was the third son of
John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg and Christine Eleonore of Zeutsch (1666–1699). After the death of his father in 1704, Christian Augustus inherited Anhalt-Dornburg jointly with his brothers
John Louis II, John Augustus (died 1709), Christian Louis (died 1710) and John Frederick (died 1742). After possibly six months as a captain in the regiment guard in 1708, on 11 February 1709 he joined the Regiment on foot in Anhalt-Zerbst (No. 8) which later changed its name to the Grenadier's Regiment King
Frederick William IV of Prussia. It was stationed in
Stettin. In 1711, Christian Augustus was awarded the Order
De la Générosité, later renamed in
Pour le Mérite, and on 1 March 1713 was elevated to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After he took part in several military campaigns during the
War of the Spanish Succession in the
Spanish Netherlands, in 1714 Christian Augustus was appointed Chief of the Regiment; two years later, on 4 January 1716 he was named colonel and on 14 August 1721 became major-general. On 22 January 1729 he became commander of
Stettin, after having been chosen there on 24 May 1725 as a knight of
Order of the Black Eagle. Christian Augustus was designated on 28 May 1732 lieutenant-general and on 8 April 1741 infantry general. On 5 June of that year he was designated Governor of Stettin. On 16 May 1742 Prussian King
Frederick the Great awarded him the highest military dignity, the rank of
Generalfeldmarschall. Six months later, the death of his cousin
John Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, without any issue made him and his older and only surviving brother, John Louis II, the heirs of Anhalt-Zerbst as co-rulers. Christian Augustus remained in Stettin and his brother took full charge of the government, but he died only four years later, unmarried and childless. For this reason, Christian Augustus had to leave Stettin and return to Zerbst, but he only reigned four months until his own death. ==Marriage and issue==