He is best known for writing and directing the romantic comedies Jab We Met (2007) and Love Aaj Kal (2009), and the dramas Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).

[4][5][6] His father Mansoor Ali was a contractor who did irrigation job, and as a child he would sometimes accompany him, which gave Imtiaz a sense of what was going on in the innards of India.

[16] His initial work also includes a forty-five-minute slot telefilm for series Rishtey on Zee TV;[17] he later made the story into a feature film named Highway.

In 2005, he made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy, Socha Na Tha, starring Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia.

[24][25] His next film, the romantic comedy-drama Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, emerged as his biggest commercial success to date.

Starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, the film was highly appreciated by critics upon release, and also emerged as a commercial success at the box office.

[40][41] His next directorial venture, the coming-of-age romantic drama Tamasha (2015), starred Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.

[44][45] His next directorial, the romantic comedy Jab Harry Met Sejal starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, was released on 4 August 2017.

[46][47] He then wrote the screenplay for his brother Sajid Ali's romance film Laila Majnu (2018), starring newcomers Avinash Tiwary and Tripti Dimri in lead roles.

[48][49] After a gap of three years, his next directorial venture was the romantic drama Love Aaj Kal, starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles.