In the past, the local industries included oil exploration and production (now almost completely deactivated) and uranium mining.

As a touristic area, Malargüe provides hotels and cabins for visitors interested in eco-tourism in the summer and skiing in the winter at the nearby resorts of Las Leñas and Los Molles.

By March or early April, frost is to be expected, and during the winter (May to September), wild fluctuations of temperature can occur: the average high is 11 °C (52 °F) and the average low is −2 °C (28 °F), but northwesterly winds that blow downslope from the Andes can bring temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F), and extreme Antarctic outbreaks will bring periods of snow, daytime highs well below 0 °C (32 °F) and night lows well below −12 °C (10 °F).

This route continues south, entering Neuquén Province, but is only partially built and not well maintained beyond Malargüe City.

Malargüe is also home to the Pierre Auger Observatory, an international physics experiment searching for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.