Born in the State of Wei (?), he was skilled in leading armies and military strategy. He had served in the states of Lu and Wei. In the state of Wei he commanded many great battles and was appointed Xihe Shou (Mayor of Xihe county). Later, after he was estranged from his lord and forced into exile, Wu Qi went to the State of Chu where he was appointed Prime minister by King Dao of Chu (???). His reforms made Chu a strong state at that time. The reforms he instituted enraged the old nobility in Chu and he was killed after the death of King Dao of Chu.

Wu's reforms, which started around 389 BC, were generally aimed at changing the corrupt and inefficient government. The nobility and officialdom were terribly corrupt and the government was burdened with the costs of paying them and a horde of other minor officials. Wu first lowered the annual pay of the Chu officials, then dismissed officials who were useless or incompetent. He also eliminated hereditary privileges after three generations. The money saved by cutting costs was used to create and train a more professional army.

Another of Wu's deeds was to move all the nobles to the borders, away from the capital: it could reduce their power and at the same time it could populate those areas, making them more useful to the Chu government. He is also credited with thinking up a set of building codes in Ying, in order to make the city look less "barbaric".

Although his reforms soon started to make Chu a powerful country, the nobles and Daoists of Chu hated him. Nobles accused him of trying to change the old ways, and even managed to find fault with the building codes. Daoists accused him of being a "warmonger" and an "admirer of force and weaponry", even going as far as to say that he was "a threat to humanity". He was also known for not returning to mourn when his mother died and for murdering his own wife (who was the daughter of a noble from the rival state of Qi) in order to gain trust from the ruler of the state of Lu.

Chu's prowess was quickly seen during that period: Chu defeated the Yue state in the south and the Wei in the north, dealing with each in quick succession. However, King Dao died that same year. Old nobles plotted to assassinate Wu Qi at King Dao's funeral, where he would be separated from the army. Wu Qi spotted the assassins armed with bows, and rushed to the side of King Dao's body. He was killed, but many arrows struck the dead King. The new King Su (???), furious at his father's body being mutilated, ordered all nobles involved to be executed, along with their families.

He and Sun Tzu are often listed in the same sentence (Sun-Wu,??) as great military strategists.

His military work, Wuzi was included in the compilation Seven Military Classics.

Wu Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.