He competed at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships, winning a silver medal in the 100 m and a gold medal in the 200 m.[7] He also competed in Berlin at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, finishing seventh at the age of 19 when Usain Bolt set his world record at 200m.

[12] The runner argued that the training and financial support that he received in Turkey was significant, and that the people, language, and culture were very similar between the two countries, though his home federation remained open to him representing Azerbaijan internationally again.

[13] Following negotiations with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports, Guliyev confirmed his original decision not to compete for Azerbaijan.

On August 10, 2017, he won the men's 200 metre race at the London 2017 IAAF World Championship in a time of 20.09.

Guiliyev was ranked among the best in the world in the 200 m sprint event in 2009 and in the period 2015 to 2019, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.