Born in Córdoba, Argentina, on 12 September 1948, Luis Lima was educated at Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and made his debut in 1974, at the age of 24, at Lisboa's Teatro São Carlos as Turiddu. He was then engaged at Mainz, and sang in Stuttgart, Hamburg, München and Berlin. In 1977 he sang Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at La Scala and his Met début came the following year in the role as Alfredo. A second début, considered as his professional breakthrough, took place at the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in 1982, where he substituted Plácido Domingo as Cavaradossi in Tosca opposite Eva Marton. 1984 he appeared at London's Covent Garden as Nemerino.

He was early noted for his talent and awarded with several prestigious prizes, the Toulouse, the Giacomo Lauri-Volpi and the Viñas. Later he has added the Aureliano Pertile award in Italy and the Konex Foundation's Classical Music Award in his native Argentina, as well as the Asociación de Críticos Musicales award, also in Argentina.

Of his most prestigious performances, the Verdi Don Carlos at the Wien Staatsoper under Claudio Abbado in 1986 stand out, of which more performances at the Staatsoper followed; La Boheme, Werther, I Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Les Contes d'Hoffaman, Fedora and Tosca, all to much acclaim. In recent years he has also added Carmen with Zubin Mehta to his portfolio, The Verdi Requiem with Ozawa, Carmen with Teresa Berganza in Madrid, Adriana Lecouvreur with Mirella Freni and James Levine at the Met, and Fedora with Agnes Baltsa in Zürich. He has recorded Così fan tutte, Carmen, Don Carlo, Le Roi de Lahore and Gemma Di Vergy. Andrea Chenier and Pagliacci are scheduled.