David Abulafia has written extensively on the political, economic and social history of the Mediterranean, especially Sicily, southern Italy and the Catalan world.

His books, several of which have been translated into Italian, Spanish or German, include The Two Italies, A Mediterranean Emporium and The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms 1200-1500,The New Cambridge Medieval History, volume 5, c.1198-1300, which he edited, and Frederick II. He has also written over a hundred historical articles. He had lectured in several European countries and in the United States, Israel and Japan, and he regularly visits Italy for his research.

He has been awarded the King Roger II Prize in Sicily for his books on the history of the island. He strongly believes that historians should attempt to convey the results of their research to a wider public. He is Professor of Mediterranean History at Cambridge University and he has been a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, since 1974.