Bateman first appeared in a cereal commercial for Golden Grahams in 1980 and began his television career on Little House on the Prairie as James Cooper, an orphaned boy who, along with his sister, is adopted by the Ingalls family. From 1982 to 1984 he was a supporting character on the television show Silver Spoons as Ricky Schroder's "bad boy" best friend Derek Taylor. He appeared in the Knight Rider third-season episode "Lost Knight" in 1984, and a number of other small television roles. In 1984, in response to his popularity on Silver Spoons, the show's producers gave Bateman his own starring role as Matthew Burton on the NBC sitcom It's Your Move, from September 1984 to February 1985. In 1987 he appeared with Burt Reynolds on the men's team in the inaugural week of game show Win, Lose or Draw.

Bateman earned the status of teen idol in the mid-1980s for his television work, most notably as David Hogan on The Hogan Family (originally titled Valerie and later, Valerie's Family, after Valerie Harper left the series). He became the Directors Guild of America's youngest-ever director when, at age 18, he helmed three episodes of The Hogan Family. In 1987 he gained international recognition in the motion picture sequel Teen Wolf Too, which was a box office failure. In 1994 he played opposite Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn in the television film This Can't Be Love. During this period, he had roles on four series – Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends – none of which lasted longer than one season. He also directed an episode of Two of a Kind in 1999. In 2002 he played the frisky sibling of Thomas Jane's character in the feature film The Sweetest Thing.

In 2003, Bateman was cast as Michael Bluth in the comedy series Arrested Development. Although critically acclaimed, the series never achieved high ratings and ended on February 10, 2006. The show was revived in spring 2013. Bateman won several awards for his work on the series, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. He was also nominated in 2005 for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. New episodes of Arrested Development have been released on Netflix with the original cast, including Bateman. Bateman performed commentary on the 2004 Democratic National Convention for The Majority Report with Arrested Development co-star David Cross, and hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005. In 2006 he appeared as a guest star on the Scrubs episode "My Big Bird" as Mr. Sutton, a garbage man with a flock of vicious ostriches as pets. In 2009 Bateman became a regular voice actor for the short-lived Fox comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up. He voiced Larry Littlejunk, the gym teacher and only staff member who can teach.

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In 1987, Bateman won the celebrity portion of the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Bateman married actress Amanda Anka, daughter of Anne de Zogheb (1942–2017) and singer Paul Anka, on July 3, 2001. They have two daughters who were born in 2006 and 2012.

Throughout the 1990s, Bateman struggled with an addiction to alcohol and drugs; he stated in a 2009 interview: "I'd worked so hard that by the time I was 20, I wanted to play hard. And I did that really well ... it was like Risky Business for ten years."

Bateman is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

• Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914–1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 13.
• Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 373.