Kubrick and producer James Harris acquired the rights to Nabokov's novel, considered 'unfilmable,' several years after its 1955 Paris publication by Olympia Press, a house specializing in pornographic literature.

When Marlon Brando fired Kubrick from One-Eyed Jacks in November 1958, Kubrick issued a press release saying he was resigning 'with deep regret' so he could 'commence work on Lolita'; production was ultimately delayed until 1960 after Kubrick directed Spartacus for Kirk Douglas.

Due to the restrictive Hays Code of the era, Kubrick and Harris were forced to tone down the pedophilic elements central to the novel's narrative.

James Mason was Kubrick's first choice for Humbert Humbert but initially declined due to a Broadway commitment and instead recommended his own daughter, Portland, for the role of Lolita; he later got the part after withdrawing from the play.

Laurence Olivier turned down the role of Humbert Humbert on the advice of agents who also represented Kubrick, and David Niven accepted the part but withdrew fearing his TV show's sponsors would object to the subject matter; Peter Ustinov, Noël Coward and Rex Harrison were also considered.

Several actresses were considered or offered the role of Lolita before Sue Lyon, including Jill Haworth (blocked by her contract with Otto Preminger), Hayley Mills (whose parents refused permission), Joey Heatherton, Sandra Dee, and Tuesday Weld.

Producer James Harris said Sue Lyon, 14 at the time of filming, was deliberately cast to be a clear 'sex object' so audiences would understand Humbert's attraction, and that he and Kubrick reshaped the story into a sympathetic love story rather than something perverse.

Although the novel is set in the 1940s and largely in the U.S., Kubrick shot most exteriors in England because much of the financing was raised there under the condition it be spent locally; an American Midwest driving scene was actually filmed on Grover Road in Oxhey Village near Watford.

Kubrick's own fear of flying was a factor in his decision to base the production in England, where he had been living since 1961.

Nabokov agreed to let Kubrick move the novel's ending to the start of the film, a change Kubrick felt sacrificed a great ending but helped sustain audience interest.

The film's recurring dance number, first heard on the radio when Humbert meets Lolita, became a hit single titled 'Lolita Ya Ya,' credited to Sue Lyon on vocals, and was later covered by The Ventures, reaching number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A 2020 article by journalist Sarah Weinman alleged that producer James Harris had sex with Sue Lyon during filming when she was 14; Lyon later said 'My destruction as a person dates from that film.'

Filmmakers David Lynch, Sofia Coppola, and Paul Thomas Anderson have all cited Lolita among their favorite films.

Nabokov wrote a screenplay draft between March and September 1960 that ran over 400 pages, prompting producer Harris to say 'You couldn't make it. You couldn't lift it'; very little of Nabokov's script was ultimately used despite his sole screenplay credit.