At the age of 13, Peralta joined his first football team Los Vagos from his home town. In 1998, when he was in high school, he made the official town team of La Partida to play against other Municipalities in Torreon. He managed to join CESIFUT (Centro de Sinergia Futbolista) [Synergy Center of Football] after having recovered from a broken tibia and fibula which left him immobile for a year. After months of recuperation, Peralta managed to get into Alacranes de Durango, a professional team in the Liga Premier de México and drew the attention of C.D. Guadalajara’s head coach Oscar Ruggeri, who took him to Guadalajara for a trial. He would then receive an invitation from Monarcas Morelia, where manager Rubén Omar Romano gave him a try out with the team in which he debuted.

A native of Torreón, Oribe Peralta made his league debut for Monarcas Morelia on 22 February 2003, coming in as a substitute in the second half of a league match against Club América, which ended in a 1–2 defeat. Peralta then played his second match of his first season against Cruz Azul. For the next two seasons Peralta did not see any action, and was transferred to León of the second division. He made 33 appearances and scored ten goals, winning the Clausura tournament with the club in 2004.

In 2005, Monterrey loaned Peralta to Guadalajara as a reinforcement for the 2005 Copa Libertadores tournament. He only played in four matches and did not score any goals.

After his brief loan spell with Guadalajara on 2005, Oribe returns to Guadalajara on 2019 on a permanent deal, after the team signed the veteran forward from rival Club America, generating controversy. The 35-year-old has agreed to a two-year contract with Guadalajara, with the possibility of an extension for a third year. On 1 October, in a Copa MX match against Correcaminos UAT, he would score his first goal after a year-long drought, winning the match 2–0. On 31 January 2020, Peralta scored his first league goal for Guadalajara in a 2–2 draw against Atlético San Luis.

Peralta made his debut for Mexico coming on as a late substitute during a friendly match against Argentina on 9 March 2005. He was included in the preparations for the 2006 World Cup but did not make the final squad.

In 2006, Peralta moved to Santos Laguna. He made his debut against Monterrey – his former club – scoring his first goal in his first start of the season. Peralta ended the season with 9 goals in 17 matches and 7 assists.

In 2009, Peralta was loaned out on a one-year deal to Jaguares for the Clausura tournament. He had a successful loan spell with Jaguares, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances.

After his successful loan spell, Peralta returned to Santos Laguna in 2010. He was Santos Laguna’s main striker and went on to score 82 goals in 225 games during his time with the club, as well as winning the Clausura 2008 and 2012 championships. Peralta also helped Santos reach the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League on two occasions within two years. He was also awarded the CONCACAF Player of the Year in 2013 for his excellent performance. Peralta was the top scorer of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League with a total of 7 goals in 8 games helping his team reach the finals against Monterrey, which they lost. On 26 April 2014, he scored his last goal with Santos scoring the second goal for Santos giving them the 2–1 lead against Veracruz. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.

In 2011, Peralta was selected by coach Luis Fernando Tena as one of three over-aged reinforcements for the 2011 Pan American Games. Mexico won the gold medal with Peralta finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. At the start of the tournament, Peralta scored his first goal in a 2–1 win against Ecuador on 19 October. Two days later, he scored a goal in the match against Trinidad and Tobago, which ended in a 1–1 draw. In the third match against Uruguay on 23 October, Peralta scored a goal in Mexico’s 5–2 win. Peralta scored a hat-trick against Costa Rica to make it to the final against Argentina in which Mexico won with a score of 1–0.

Peralta was called up by coach Luis Fernando Tena as one of the five over-aged reinforcements of the Mexican team composed entirely of players under the age of 22 that participated in the 2011 Copa América, though he had a limited role as a reserve.

On 10 August 2011, Peralta officially made his return to the national team after six years and scored his first goal for Mexico against the United States in a match that ended in a 1–1 draw. He did not participate in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup or the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to injury.

On 10 May 2014, Peralta played his final game for Santos Laguna at home in Estadio Corona in a 4–2 win against Pachuca.

On 13 May 2014, it was announced that Peralta was sold to Club América prior to the Apertura tournament. Though details of the transfer were undisclosed, it was reported that América paid US$10 million for Peralta, making his transfer the most expensive in Mexican football history at the time, as well as receiving an annual salary of US$2.5 million.

On 8 May 2014, Peralta was selected for the final 23-man roster participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by coach Miguel Herrera. He scored the only goal in Mexico’s debut match in Natal against Cameroon on 13 June, pouncing on the rebound after goalkeeper Charles Itandje parried Giovani dos Santos’ shot after 61 minutes.

On 9 July 2015, Peralta scored a hat-trick during Mexico’s opening match of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup – a 6–0 defeat of Cuba in Chicago; he also scored in the Final, a 3–1 win against Jamaica in Philadelphia.

On 23 July 2016, in the second game of the Apertura tournament, Peralta scored his first hat-trick for America in a 3–1 victory over Toluca. On 10 September, Peralta returned to América after suffering an injury at the Summer Olympics against Cruz Azul, scoring the first goal for América as they came back from a 0–3 deficit to win the match 4–3.

On 7 July 2016, Peralta was confirmed as one of the three over-aged players to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Peralta was named captain and scored the first goal in Mexico’s 2–2 draw against Germany in the opening match of Group C on 4 August. On 7 August, it was announced that Peralta was ruled out of the national squad after sustaining a fractured nose during Mexico’s match against Fiji.

On 15 September 2017, Peralta scored his 50th league goal with Club América in their 1–1 draw against Tijuana.

On 26 May 2018, Oribe Peralta won his second Liga MX title with Club América defeating Cruz Azul in the final with a 2–0 win at the Estadio Azteca.

On July 29, 2020, it was confirmed that Peralta has tested positive for COVID-19 amid its Pandemic in Mexico