Emecheta was married at age 16 and immigrated with her husband to London in 1962. The problems she encountered in London during the early 1960s provided background for the books that are called her immigrant novels. Her first two books, In the Ditch (1972) and Second-Class Citizen (1974)—both later included in the single volume Adah's Story (1983)—introduce Emecheta's three major themes: the quests for equal treatment, self-confidence, and dignity as a woman. Somewhat different in style, Emecheta's later novel Gwendolen (1989; also published as The Family) also addresses the issues of immigrant life in Great Britain.

Most of Emecheta's other novels—including The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979), Destination Biafra (1982), and Double Yoke (1982)—are realistic novels set in Africa that explore Emecheta's favourite themes. Perhaps her strongest work, The Rape of Shavi (1983), is also the most difficult to categorize. Set in an imaginary idyllic African kingdom, it gives an account of the events that occur when European refugees from a nuclear disaster arrive.

Emecheta also wrote an autobiography, Head Above Water (1986), and several works of children's and juvenile fiction.