Catton was known as a narrative historian who specialized in popular histories that emphasized the colorful characters and vignettes of history, in addition to the simple dates, facts, and analyses. His works, although well researched and supported by footnotes, were generally not presented in a rigorous academic style. In the long line of Civil War historians, Catton is arguably the most prolific and popular of all, with Shelby Foote his only conceivable rival. Oliver Jensen, who succeeded him as editor of American Heritage magazine, wrote: "There is a near-magic power of imagination in Catton's work that seemed to project him physically into the battlefields, along the dusty roads and to the campfires of another age."

Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan, to George R. and Adela M. (Patten) Catton, and raised in Benzonia. His father was a Congregationalist minister, who accepted a teaching position in Benzonia Academy and later became the academy's headmaster. As a boy, Bruce first heard the reminiscences of the aged veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Catton wrote in his memoir, Waiting for the Morning Train (1972), that their stories made a lasting impression upon him, giving:

Catton attended Oberlin College, starting in 1916, but he left without completing a degree because of World War I. After serving briefly in the U.S. Navy during the war, Catton became a reporter and editor for The Cleveland News (as a freelance reporter), the Boston American (1920–24), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (1925). From then until 1941, he worked for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (a Scripps-Howard syndicate), for which he wrote editorials and book reviews, as well as serving as a Washington, D.C. correspondent. Catton did try twice to finish his studies, but found himself repeatedly pulled away by his newspaper work; Oberlin awarded him an honorary degree in 1956.

At the start of World War II, Catton was too old for military service and, starting in 1941, served as Director of Information for the War Production Board and later held similar posts in the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior. This experience as a federal employee prepared him to write his first book, War Lords of Washington, in 1948. Although the book was not a commercial success, it inspired Catton to leave the federal government to become a full-time author.

In 1954, Catton was offered the position as founding editor of the new American Heritage magazine, and took the post, encouraged among others by his friend, the historian Allan Nevins. Catton served initially as a writer, reviewer, and editor. In the first issue, he wrote:

On August 16, 1925, Catton married Hazel H. Cherry. In 1926, they had a son, William Bruce, who taught history at Princeton University and at Middlebury College, Vermont, where he was the first Charles A. Dana Professor of History.

In 1959, Catton was named senior editor of American Heritage, a post he held until his death.

In 1977, the year before his death, Catton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from President Gerald R. Ford, who noted that the author and historian "made us hear the sounds of battle and cherish peace."

In cooperation with American Heritage Publishing Company, the Society of American Historians established the Bruce Catton Prize Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of History, a biennial award to honor an entire body of work, from 1984-2006. The prize included a certificate and $5,000 (later $2,500). The prize was awarded to David Herbert Donald (2006), David Brion Davis (2004), Gerda Lerner (2002), Bernard Bailyn (2000), Richard N. Current (1998), Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1996), John Hope Franklin (1994), Edmund S. Morgan (1992), Henry Steele Commager (1990), Richard B. Morris (1988), C. Vann Woodward (1986), and Dumas Malone (1984).

Bruce Catton died in hospital near his summer home at Frankfort, Michigan, after a respiratory illness. He was buried in Benzonia's township cemetery.