He was born on December 31, 1905, in Ordubad.
In 1923, he entered the higher pedagogical institute of Baku. In 1926, after successful graduation from the institute he taught at secondary school for 3 years. In 1929, he became a second-year student of chemistry faculty of MSU, from which he graduated in 1932. He was a student of Nikolay Zelinsky and Aleksei Balandin and one of the first seniors of the laboratory of organic chemistry of chemistry faculty's organic chemistry cathedra with “organocatalysis” speciality. On the termination of MSU he worked in Moscow at the chemical plant No.1, and then was transferred to Azerbaijan, where he managed the Cathedra of organic chemistry of the agricultural college of Azerbaijan at first. Then he worked (1933–1945) at the Azerbaijan Research Institute of Oil, where he became the manager of laboratory. His work was dedicated to scientific problems of petrochemistry and organocatalysis and was closely connected with the development of domestic oil-refining and petrochemical industry. Some developments assumed as the basis of new industrial processes.
Starting from 1934, he led the great pedagogical work at Azerbaijan University named after S.M.Kirov, sequentially holding the positions of associate professor, professor, head of a cathedra and rector (1954–1958). In 1933, Candidate of Chemistry was conferred on Yusif Mammadaliyev without defend of dissertation.
In 1942, he became a Doctor of Chemistry and in 1943, a professor; in 1945, the academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR (from the establishment of academy). He was the director of Oil Academy of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1946, he was nominated to the work in the Ministry of Oil Industry, where he became the chairman of scientific-technical council of the ministry. In 1951–1954, he was the academician-secretary of physics, chemistry and oil departments of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, in 1954–1958, the rector of Azerbaijan State University.
In 1947–1951 and 1958–1961 Mammadaliyev was chosen the president of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. The Institute of Petrochemical Processes was established in Baku on Mammadaliyev's initiative.
In 1958, Mammadaliyev was chosen as the corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR.
Mammadaliyev died in 1961.