The first president of the team was Hassan Kanah and the first technical staff consisted of the manager, Ghani Askar, and his two assistants, Moayad Al-Badri and Sami Al-Saffar.

In their first season, 1970–71, the team under the management of Thamir Muhsin finished top of the second-tier league and were promoted to the Iraq Central FA First Division.

In 1974, the team was banned from competing in the Iraq FA Baghdad Cup competition due to events that took place in, and their withdrawal from, their match against Kahrabaa Al-Wusta B in a second-tier league game.

Jamal Salih led the team to promotion to the top division in the 1974–75 season, after which the club acquired its own headquarters and elected an administrative body.

In the 1979–80 Iraq FA Cup, Al-Talaba reached the final for the first time but they were defeated on 7 April 1980 by Al-Jaish 4–2 on penalties after drawing 1–1.

[25] On 27 December 1985, one of the most important matches of the season, which could have decided the championship, was played between Al-Talaba and Al-Rasheed in front of 50,000 spectators at the Al-Shaab Stadium.

[25] Al-Talaba participated in the 1986 Asian Club Championship where they reached the final round but finished last in the table with a single point.

[28] Al-Talaba also participated in the Saddam International Tournament in 1986, hosted in Baghdad, but finished third in their group and failed to reach the semi-finals.

[30] Due to managerial changes and instability, the 1986–87 Iraqi National League ended with Al-Talaba in sixth place, having totaled 49 points, under the consecutive management of Ahmed Subhi, Yahya Alwan and Jamal Salih.

In the final against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, the match ended in a 0–0 draw which led to extra time when Alaa Kadhim scored the winning goal in the 104th minute.

[44] In the final, they faced Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya for the second time and defeated them 2–1 at the Al-Shaab Stadium, winning their second successive Umm al-Ma'arik Championship under the management of Saeed.

In the fourth edition of the Umm al-Ma'arik Championship, Al-Talaba reached the final against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya but lost 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw.

[49] In the second round, they came up against Yangiyer and lost 2–1 in Tashkent before they turned it around to win 2–0 in Baghdad with goals from Muhannad Mohammed and Qahtan Chathir.

[51] In the final, Al-Talaba faced Bellmare Hiratsuka in Kanagawa where they were beaten 2–1 after the winning goal was scored in the 81st minute by Hidetoshi Nakata.

They reached the round of 16 in the 1996–97 Iraq FA Cup and didn't get past the group stage in the 6th Umm al-Ma'arik Championship.

[58] Al-Talaba participated in the 2001 Al-Wehdat Arabian Championship before the start of the 2001–02 season; they played four games, winning one, drawing two and losing one, finishing third in the tournament.

They reached the final of the 11th Umm al-Ma'arik Championship, after defeating Al-Karkh 1–0 in the semi-finals, against Al-Shorta where they lost with a single goal after extra time.

[61] Al-Talaba also won their first-ever Iraq FA Cup that season, after meeting Al-Shorta again in the final and defeating them with Qusay Hashim's late 85th-minute goal.

[67] In the 2004–05 Iraqi Premier League, Al-Talaba finished the first phase as leaders of Group Three with 28 points, having won eight matches, drawn four and lost four.

[68] Al-Talaba maintained their performance in the 2005–06 Iraqi Premier League by finishing the first phase as the leaders of Group Four with 24 points from seven wins, three draws and two losses.

[69] From 2–9 September 2005, Al-Talaba participated in the 2005 Damascus International Championship, reaching the final against fellow Iraqi club Al-Zawra'a.

[71] On 30 November 2006, the club's president, Hadeeb Majhoul, was kidnapped by an unknown terrorist group in Baghdad and, after three days, his body was found in the morgue.

[80] In the 2009–10 Iraqi Premier League, under the management of Radhi Shenaishil, Al-Talaba finished as the leaders of Group B in the first stage with 68 points, having won 19 matches, drew 11, and lost four.

They withdrew in the twelfth round due to a ruling from the Iraqi Olympic Committee where they were set to face Baghdad that awarded the win.

[83] In the 2011–12 Iraqi Elite League, Al-Talaba with Jamal Ali, Khalaf Hassan, and Karim Salman as their consecutive managers, finished the season in fourth place with 68 points, winning in 19 matches, drawing in 11, and losing in eight.

[85] Al-Talaba finished the 2013–14 Iraqi Premier League, under the management of Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail, in eighth place with 31 points from 22 matches.

[96] In early 2014, the owner of the club, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, gave the project of building a new sports city to the Spanish company TriArena.

The cost of the project is estimated to be $84 million and the duration of construction was expected to be 30 months, meaning that by 2017 the Al-Talaba Sports City should have been open.

Al-Talaba's arch rivals are Al-Zawra'a and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya because of their constant battles to win the Iraqi Premier League over the years.

As of 10 May 2011[update]: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.