After competing in French Formula Renault and French Formula Three, Muller won the British Formula Two championship title in 1992 and competed in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship in 1993. His sister Cathy Muller had previously contested four races in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship between 1986 and 1988.
In 1994 Muller debuted in the French Supertouring Championship with Team BMW Fina, finishing third; the following year he became champion. In 1996, due to a lack of manufacturer involvement, he moved to Audi Sport Italia and competed in the Italian Superturismo Championship, finishing fourth overall. After one season he moved to the Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW) to develop the new Audi A4 front-wheel-drive car, finishing seventh in 1997. In 1998 he moved to the BTCC.
Three years later Muller was called by N.Technology to run an Alfa Romeo 156 to help Alfa Romeo and Fabrizio Giovanardi win the European Super Touring Championship in 2001.
Muller began his BTCC career in 1998 replacing Audi Vice Champion Frank Biela. Thanks to his extensive experience with the front-wheel-drive Audi A4 he achieved three podiums and finished seventh in the championship, while teammate John Bintcliffe finished fifteenth.
After Audi withdrew at the end of 1998, Muller moved to the Vauxhall Motorsport team run by Triple Eight Race Engineering for 1999, alongside John Cleland, using the Vauxhall Vectra. He won his first BTCC race at Brands Hatch in round 7 and finished sixth in the championship.
In 2000 — the last year for Super Tourers in the BTCC — Muller drove for Vauxhall again alongside Jason Plato and Vincent Radermecker, finishing fourth in the championship, the top Vauxhall result, behind all three Ford drivers.
In 2001 regulations changed to the new Touring Cars format. Vauxhall debuted its BTC-T Vauxhall Astra Coupé. Muller and teammate Plato fought for the championship throughout the season; Muller finished second after his car caught fire in the final race, leaving Plato as champion. In 2002 he finished second again, behind teammate James Thompson, due to bad luck in the late races. The following year, driving the Astra Coupé for the team now called VX Racing, Muller won his first BTCC title, defeating Thompson after a strong season. In 2004 Thompson won his second championship from Muller by one point. In 2005 the new Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch replaced the Astra Coupé but was outclassed by the Honda Integra; Muller finished second in the championship for the fourth time in five years. At the end of 2005 he left the BTCC to drive for SEAT in the WTCC.
On 12 November 2005 it was officially announced that Muller would join the WTCC with SEAT Sport for 2006. A pair of second places at the opening Monza round confirmed him as a frontrunner; his first win came in round 5 at Brands Hatch. He finished fourth in the championship with 62 points.
In 2007 Muller finished second in the WTCC with 81 points, losing the title to Andy Priaulx in the final race at Macau when his SEAT León TDI suffered a fuel pump failure while he was leading the first race with one lap to go, ending his involvement in race 2 as well.
Muller opened 2008 with a victory at Curitiba, Brazil. He battled primarily with teammate Gabriele Tarquini throughout the season and won the championship at the final round in Macau. In 2009 Muller took four victories but was beaten to the title by teammate Tarquini.
Muller moved to rival team Chevrolet in 2010. He scored pole position and won his first race for the team in Brazil, took further wins in Italy and the United Kingdom, and became the 2010 World Touring Car Champion — the first driver to win the title for two different teams.
In 2011 Muller was champion again after a close battle with teammate Rob Huff, matching Andy Priaulx's record of three WTCC titles. He stayed with Chevrolet in 2012.
Muller remained with the RML team for 2013, now racing as an independent entry following Chevrolet's withdrawal from the WTCC. He drove a Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T alongside former Team Aon driver Tom Chilton. He won both races at the season-opening Race of Italy in wet conditions, his first victories as an independent touring car driver.
In August 2013 it was announced that Muller would join Citroën Racing for the 2014 WTCC season alongside nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb in a two-year deal. Muller announced that 2016 would be his last WTCC season, retiring to concentrate on his family and race team.
During 2017 Muller took on a role as test and development driver for Polestar Cyan Racing, returning to the championship to replace Nestor Girolami for the season finale in Qatar. In 2018 he returned to full-time racing with a pair of self-owned Hyundai i30 N TCRs for himself and Thed Björk under the M Racing-YMR banner. He finished runner-up in the drivers' championship and M Racing-YMR were the teams' champions. For 2019 Muller returned to Cyan Racing driving a Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
Muller competed in the Australian V8 Supercar endurance races for a number of years, winning the 2005 Sandown 500 alongside Craig Lowndes in a Betta Electrical Triple Eight BA Falcon. In the same year at the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, he and Lowndes were leading when Lowndes clipped the wall at Reid Park; after a watts link change, a further incident saw a wheel part company from Paul Dumbrell's car and strike the windscreen of the Lowndes car. In 2006 and 2007 Muller was unable to race in the two annual Australian enduros due to a clash with the WTCC calendar.
Muller competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993 and 1996 but did not finish on either occasion. He was originally entered for the 1999 race in an Audi R8C but withdrew before any official running.
In 2007 Muller participated in the Dakar Rally, and in 2009 (following the 2008 cancellation) he participated again in South America but withdrew during the fifth stage. He represented France in the 2007 Race of Champions alongside Sébastien Bourdais. He competed in the Rallye de France–Alsace in a Citroën Xsara WRC, a round of the 2010 World Rally Championship.
Muller is founder and team principal of Yvan Muller Racing, which enters cars in various motorsport disciplines including sports car racing and helps to train young drivers.
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