The award will be handed out at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, at the Dolby Theatre, on April 18.
"Eddie Murphy is an American icon," said Kathleen Kennedy, who chairs the institute's board of trustees.
"A trailblazing force in the art forms of film, television and stand-up comedy, his versatility knows no bounds."
Murphy, 64, has been a force in entertainment for nearly 50 years, as a teenage stand-up phenomenon, on television as a part of the Saturday Night Live cast. In film he's ruled the box office in multiple decades, with hits like Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, The Nutty Professor and the Shrek movies.
In 2007, he was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Dreamgirls, which had already earned him a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe, but he didn't win the Academy Award.
In a new documentary about his life and career, Being Eddie, which is currently streaming on Netflix, Murphy reflected that he was more annoyed about having to put on a tux and go to the event than he was about losing.
"It's always wonderful to win stuff, but if I don't win, I don't give a (expletive)," he said. "I'm still Eddie in the morning."
In 2023, Murphy got the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, where he kept his remarks to a speedy two minutes. He told The Associated Press that he has a different perspective on things than he did during the height of his fame.
"You take everything for granted when you're young, how successful I was," Murphy said. "Now I take nothing for granted and appreciate everything."
Murphy is the 51st recipient of the AFI life achievement award, which was first handed out in 1973 to John Ford. Other recent honorees include Nicole Kidman, Julie Andrews and Denzel Washington.
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