Tian Suimin was born in Baotou city, in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region,

in February 1915. He graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy (10th period) and joined the Jin-Sui Army in 1931, serving as a company commander and then as a battalion commander in the Kuomintang Army's Fu Zuoyi Division.

He became the 13th Brigade Major General Deputy Brigade Commander in the Kuomintang military. Tian subsequently participated in the Suiyuan Uprising on September 19, 1949, serving as deputy brigade commander of the 36th Army Cavalry Brigade and as deputy commander of the 107th Division of the People's Liberation Army. He was president of the Whampoa Alumni Association in Inner Mongolia and the chairman of the Wuhai branch of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang.