Born at Ávila, he first served as the commander of the Duke of Alba's bodyguard. It was in this function that d'Avila arrested the Count of Egmont. When the Eighty Years' War started, d'Avila suffered a defeat in the Battle of Quesnoy. He was also involved in the 1572 Siege of Middelburg, and the Battle of Flushing a year later. In 1574, d'Avila defeated Louis and Henry, brothers of William the Silent, in the Battle of Mookerheyde. Four years later, he participated with the Duke of Alba at the Battle of Alcântara. d'Avila died at Lisbon of a wound infection, during a raid in Portugal.