Galouye's first published fiction, the novelette Rebirth, appeared in the March 1952 issue of Imagination. His work appeared in many magazines of the period including Galaxy Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Between 1961 and 1973, Galouye wrote five novels, notably Simulacron Three, basis of the movie The Thirteenth Floor (1999) and the German TV miniseries, Welt am Draht (1973) (directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder). His first novel, Dark Universe (1961) was nominated for a Hugo.

According to his obituary in the New Orleans States-Item, Galouye...

... was a Navy pilot during WWII from 1942 to 1946. He graduated from Pensacola Naval Air School, held the rank of lieutenant and was for a time during his service years in charge of a training school in Hawaii for Navy airmen. Immediately after release from the Navy, he began his career with The States-Item as a reporter, then as a copy editor and joined the editorial department in 1956. He later was named associate editor of that department, retiring in 1967. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Carmel Barbara Jordan Galouye; two daughters, Mrs. Gerald Johan Zomerdijk of Zaandam, Holland, and Mrs. Joseph Edward Ingraham of Covington; and five grandchildren.

His retirement was due to failing health, which was in turn related to injuries sustained during his Navy service. His health continued to decline until his early death at age 56. He died in New Orleans' Veteran's Hospital and is interred at Covington Cemetery #1 in Covington.

The eminent British zoologist Richard Dawkins regards Galouye as one of his favorite fiction writers. BBC Radio 4 - Open Book

In 2007, Galouye was named as the recipient of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, which is co-sponsored by the heirs of Paul M. A. Linebarger (who wrote as Cordwainer Smith) and Readercon. The jury for this award recognizes a deceased genre writer whose work should be "rediscovered" by the readers of today, and that newly rediscovered writer is a deceased guest of honor at the following year's Readercon. Galouye was named 6 July 2007 by Barry N. Malzberg and Gordon Van Gelder, speaking on behalf of themselves and the other two judges, Martin H. Greenberg and Mike Resnick.

• Novels
• Dark Universe (1961)
• Lords of the Psychon (1963)
• Simulacron 3 (1964, published as Counterfeit World in UK)
• A Scourge of Screamers (1968, published as The Lost Perception in UK)
• The Infinite Man (1973) (fix-up from the 2 "Tarl Brent" stories that began with "Tonight the Sky Will Fall!" (Imagination May 1952 ))

• Collections
• The Last Leap and other stories of the supermind (1964) [contents as *TLL below]
• Project Barrier (1968) [contents as *PB below]

• Short stories
• Rebirth, (ss), Imagination, Mar 1952
• Tonight the Sky Will Fall!, Imagination May 1952 (see The Infinite Man (1973))
• The Reluctant Hero, (ss), Imagination: Jul 1952
• The Dangerous Doll, (ss), Imagination: Sep 1952
• The Fist of Shiva, (ss), Imagination: May 1953
• Sanctuary, (nv), F&SF: Feb 1954 (*TLL)
• Disposal Unit, (ss), Imagination: Mar 1954
• Cosmic Santa Claus, (ss), Imagination: May 1954
• Phantom World, (nv), Imagination: Aug 1954
• Jebaburba, (ss), Galaxy: Oct 1954 (*TLL)
• Over the River, (ss), Imaginative Tales: May 1955
• So Very Dark, (ss), Imaginative Tales: Jul 1955
• Country Estate, (ss), Galaxy: Aug 1955
• Deadline Sunday, (nv), Imagination: Oct 1955 (*TLL)
• The Day the Sun Died, (nv), Imagination: Dec 1955
• Seeing-Eye Dog, (ss), Galaxy: Sep 1956 (*TLL)
• All Jackson's Children, (ss), Galaxy: Jan 1957
• Gulliver Planet, (ss), Science Fiction Adventures: Apr 1957
• Shock Troop, (ss), Galaxy: Jun 1957
• Shuffle Board, (ss), IF: Jun 1957 (*PB)
• Share Alike, (ss), Galaxy: Oct 1957
• Project Barrier, (ss), Fantastic Universe: Jan 1958 (*PB)
• The City of Force, (nv), Galaxy: Apr 1959
• Sitting Duck, (ss), IF: Jul 1959
• Diplomatic Coop, (ss), Star Science Fiction Stories #5 (Pohl) 1959
• The Last Leap, (nv), IF: Jan 60 (*TLL)
• Kangaroo Court, (ss), IF: Sep 1960 (*TLL)
• Fighting Spirit, (nv), Galaxy: Dec 1960 (*TLL)
• The Reality Paradox, (ss), Fantastic: Jan 1961
• The Big Blow-Up, (nv), Fantastic: Mar 1961
• Descent into the Maelstrom, (ss), Fantastic: Apr 1961
• Homey Atmosphere, (ss), Galaxy: Apr 1961 (*TLL)
• The Trekkers, (ss), Fantastic: Sep 1961
• Mirror Image, (ss), IF: Sep 1961
• Spawn of Doom, (ss), Fantastic: Dec 1961
• A Silence of Wings, (ss), Fantastic: Feb 1962
• Recovery Area, (ss), Amazing: Feb 1963 (*PB)
• Reign of the Telepuppets, (na), Amazing: Aug 1963 (*PB)
• Rub-a-Dub, (ss), Project Barrier (1969) (*PB)
• Prometheus Rebound, (nv), The Year 2000 (Harrison, 1970)