Born and raised in Maracay, Venezuela, Altuve was signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent in 2007, and he made his major league debut in 2011.

[10] The club gave him an evaluation, and, after he impressed team officials, they signed him to a contract[9] as an undrafted free agent on 6 March, 2007,[11] with a $15,000 (USD, $22,000 today) bonus.

[19] Altuve returned to Venezuela to play for Navegantes del Magallanes, based in Valencia, Carabobo, in the Venezuelan Winter League.

[20] On 1 May, 2012, Altuve faced New York Mets reliever Jon Rauch, the tallest player in major league history at 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 m).

[21] The 18-inch (460 mm) height difference is believed to be the biggest between pitcher and batter except for a 1951 publicity stunt in which a 3-foot-7-inch (1.09 m) Eddie Gaedel had one plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns.

The Astros clinched a playoff berth on the final day of the season, securing their place in the AL Wild Card Game versus the New York Yankees.

Altuve drove in Jonathan Villar in the seventh inning versus Yankee reliever Dellin Betances for the final run of the contest.

[8] On 16 August, Altuve collected his 1,000th hit, setting the Astros' franchise record for the fewest games to do so (786) after a three-hit night versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

[49][50] Over two games versus the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies on 23–24 July, he set the club record for hits in consecutive plate appearances with eight.

Altuve became just the fifth hitter since integration in 1947 to record four straight 200-hit seasons, following Wade Boggs (1983−89), Kirby Puckett (1986−89), Suzuki (2001−2010), and Michael Young (2003−07).

He hit a solo home run in a 4−0, Game 7 win in which the Astros advanced to their second World Series in franchise history, to face the National League pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.

[66] Prior to Game 2 of the World Series, Altuve was presented with the Hank Aaron Award, the first of his career, as the "most outstanding offensive performer" in the American League.

He played the game clean"; Correa's comments came after Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger accused Altuve of stealing the MVP Award from runner-up Aaron Judge.

[87] Over three games versus the Cleveland Indians spanning 25–27 May, he realized a base hit in each of 10 consecutive at-bats, breaking his own club record of eight which he had set the year prior.

[91] With the Astros finishing the year 103–59, the team clinched the AL West again, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in 3 games before eventually falling to the Red Sox in the ALCS.

[96] Altuve was placed on the injured list on 12 May with a left hamstring strain, missing 35 games until returning versus the Cincinnati Reds on 19 June.

The only players in the divisional play era to reach the milestone faster were Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Gwynn, and Derek Jeter.

With the departure of teammate George Springer, second-year manager Dusty Baker came to the idea of naming Altuve to bat leadoff regularly prior to the start of the 2021 season.

[127] Altuve's leadoff home run on 19 September versus the Rays started the Astros' scoring in a 4–0 win to the clinch a fifth AL West division title over the previous six seasons.

[133] Altuve endured an 0-for-16 performance in an ALDS sweep of the Mariners, including a career-worst 0-for-8 in Game 3, which lasted a postseason record-tying 18 innings.

[134] The hitless streak extended to 25 at-bats, setting a record for most to start a postseason, until Altuve hit an opposite-field double in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS.

[138] During the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic against the United States, Altuve was hit on the left thumb by a fastball from USA pitcher Daniel Bard, and was subsequently taken off the field.

[141] On 23 May 2023, Altuve singled versus the Milwaukee Brewers for his 1,938th career hit, passing José Cruz for third place all-time in Astros history.

[146] At Yankee Stadium on 5 August, Altuve stole the 288th base of his career in the first inning, tying him for third place with César Cedeño in team history.

[d][147] Following a 13-for-25 performance to include bringing a hit streak to 14 games, Jose Altuve earned his fourth career AL Player of the Week Award to recognize his efforts for 7–13 August.

He became the fastest player in major league history to reach the hit total, 200 home runs, and 200 stolen bases, in his 1,631th game, to pass Willie Mays (1,669).

[157] Despite a strong series performance from Altuve, batting .313 with three home runs, five RBIs, and posting a 1.040 OPS, the Astros ultimately fell to the Rangers in seven games.

Altuve also became the fifth second baseman with 300 stolen bases and 200 home runs in the history of the position, joining Joe Morgan, Ryne Sandberg, Alomar, and Biggio.

[166][167] The Astros clinched a fourth straight AL West title on September 24, thereby sending Altuve to his ninth postseason appearance in his career.

On November 12, Altuve won his seventh career Silver Slugger Award, tying him with Ryne Sandberg for the most of any second baseman in Major League history.