David Cameron named the man as Chris McManus who was killed with fellow hostage Italian Franco Lamolinara.
It is understood a Special Boat Service operation to free them from al-Qaeda aligned kidnappers failed.
The effort to free Mr McManus, from the North West of England, and an Italian hostage was launched by Nigerian forces with the assistance of the UK.
The Prime Minister said the pair appeared to have died at the hands of their captors, either before or during the course of the rescue bid.
Mr Cameron said: "The effort to free Chris McManus from the north west of England, and an Italian hostage was launched by Nigerian forces with the assistance of the UK.
"Chris McManus, a British citizen, was taken hostage by terrorists in Northern Nigeria in May 2011. He was taken hostage with his colleague, an Italian national, Franco Lamolinara.
"Since then, we have been working closely with the Nigerian authorities to try to find Chris and Franco, and to secure their release.
"The terrorists holding the two hostages made very clear threats to take their lives, including in a video that was posted on the internet.
"After months of not knowing where they were being held, we received credible information about their location.
"A window of opportunity arose to secure their release.
"We also had reason to believe that their lives were under imminent and growing danger.
"Preparations were made to mount an operation to attempt to rescue Chris and Franco. Together with the Nigerian Government, today I authorised it to go ahead, with UK support.
"It is with great regret that I have to say that both Chris and Franco have lost their lives. We are still awaiting confirmation of the details, but the early indications are clear that both men were murdered by their captors, before they could be rescued.
"Our immediate thoughts must be with Chris and Franco's families, and we offer them our sincerest condolences.
"Both families have endured a terrible ordeal, and this is a devastating moment for all of them.
"The Foreign Office have been in regular contact with the McManus family since Chris's capture. I spoke to them just before Christmas and I have spoken to them again with the news this afternoon.
Mr Cameron thanked President Jonathan of Nigeria for their work and paid tribute to the UK forces who worked to bring them home.
He added: "Terrorism and appalling crimes such as these are a scourge on our world. No-one should be in any doubt about our determination to fight and to defeat them."
It was launched after the UK received credible information about their whereabouts and that their lives were under increasing threat, a spokeswoman said.
A statement issued on behalf of the McManus family, said: "As a family, we are of course devastated by the news of Chris’ death which we received earlier today.
"During this ordeal we have relied heavily on the support of our family and friends which has never waned and has enabled us to get through the most difficult of times.
"We are also aware of the many people who were working to try and have Chris returned to our family, and his girlfriend. We would like to thank all of them for their efforts.
"We knew Chris was in an extremely dangerous situation. However we knew that everything that could be done was being done.
"Our thoughts are also of course with the loved ones of Chris’ colleague, Franco Lamolinara, who are also coming to terms with this truly sad news.
"We now need time to grieve and come to terms with our loss."
Prime Minister Mario Monti was informed of the conclusion to the hostage situation by British PM Cameron in personal telehone call.
It is understood between 16 and 20 SBS commandos were involved in the Nigerian-lead operation. All British forces are safe.
The two men, who were working for an Italian building firm, were taken from a compound in Bernin Kebbi in the north of Nigeria in May 2011.
In August a Nigerian group calling itself 'Al Qaeda in the land beyond the Sahil' announced it had captured a British man.
It released a hostage video to a Mauritanian news agency. It showed a blindfolded and bearded man in an red shirt, alongside three men in dark clothing armed with Kalashnikov rifles and a machete.
The man asked the British Government to answer the demands of the group to save his life. He called on the British people to pressurise the Government into acting, so that he could return to his family, according to Shura al Mujahideen fee Junubu Afarika, a South African Islamist website.
One of the kidnappers said it would be the "last message" issued to Mr Cameron about the hostage. The speaker said the British government had failed to answer their demands and it was given two weeks to "take the correct decision."
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