Da Silva was born in Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil but later moved to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He turned professional in 1994 and has predominantly played on the Sunshine Tour where he won his first title on the tour in 1997 and has since added eight more tournament victories, and led the Vodacom Swing Challenge standings in 2006. He holds the record for most consecutive cuts made on the Sunshine Tour with 43.
Da Silva has also played extensively in Zimbabwe, where he won their Amateur Championship in 1992. He competed on the Zimbabwean PGA Tour between 1996 and 2003, winning more than 30 titles and heading the Zimbabwean Order of Merit on five occasions.
In 2016, Da Silva hit the opening tee shot in golf’s return to the Olympics in his home country of Brazil.
Da Silva would make his Legends Tour debut at the Riegler & Partner Legends in Austria, 2022. He would later go on to capture his maiden Legends Tour victory, with a wire-to-wire victory at the 2022 Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Formby Golf Club, winning by 6-shots from Joakim Haeggman.
Starting the 2023 as the previous years Barry Lane Rookie of the Year, Adilson would capture his second Legends Tour victory in the opening event of the season in Austria and the Riegler and Partner Legends. Adilson would go on to capture a total of four events in the 2023 season, including the Swiss Seniors Open, WCM Legends Open de France and the inaugural Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam