The pair are accused of luring the famous animal from a protected area
so he could be hunted by Walter Palmer, who reportedly paid park guides
$50,000 (£32,000) to kill the lion.
Mr Palmer has said he believed the trip was legal.
Cecil was wounded with a crossbow, tracked for 40 hours and then shot
with a rifle, according to Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation
Task Force.
The 13-year-old lion was then decapitated and skinned.
Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter with Bushman Safaris, attended
the court in Hwange - 500 miles west of the capital Harare - along with owner
of the land that borders the park, Honest TrymoreNdlovu.
The Zimbabwean Parks & Wildlife Authority said: "Both the
professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake
of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt."
The men face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Both men appeared at the Hwange magistrate's court, about 435 miles (700
kilometers) west of the capital Harare.
Mr Palmer, who has left Zimbabwe, is also facing poaching charges,
according to police.
Spokeswoman Charity Charamba said: "We arrested two people and now
we are looking for Palmer in connection with the same case."
Mr Palmer told his local newspaper, The Star Tribune, he had no idea the
lion was a "known, local favourite".
He said: "I hired several professional guides, and they secured all
proper permits.
"To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly
handled and conducted.
"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite,
was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt.
"I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to
ensure a legal hunt.
"Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and
practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."
Mr Rodrigues told Sky News: "The professional hunters scented
the area by dragging a dead animal ... and lured the lion to this spot.
"And then they came in at night while the lion was feeding, with a
spotlight, and shot it with a bow and arrow.
"They didn't kill him straight away.
"They took 40 hours to do a follow-up and eventually they caught up
with him and shot him with a rifle."
The lion had a GPS collar for researchers at Oxford University's
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit to track its movements.
Attempts to destroy the collar were unsuccessful, which was how the
animal was found.
The research unit's founding director, David Macdonald, said: "It's
not many months ago that I watched Cecil with my hand on my heart as he strayed
toward a hunting concession.
"On that occasion he turned back into the protection of the park,
but this time he made a fatal mistake and I feel deeply sad, personally."
Mr Rodrigues added that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the
hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil's cubs so that he can
insert his own bloodline into the females, which is standard procedure for
lions.