It has filed to sell up to $24.3bn (£15bn) stock, which would make it the biggest technology listing in the US.
Facebook's IPO, which raised $16bn in 2012, was the previous biggest share sale for an internet company.
Alibaba accounts for 80% of all online retail sales in China.  Its sites also include Taobao, Tmall, and AliExpress.
Facebook's IPO gave it a market value of more than $100bn.  Alibaba's IPO would give it a market value of up to $162bn.
"From the very beginning our founders have aspired to create a company founded by Chinese people but that belongs to the world," said executive chairman Jack Ma in the regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alibaba will decide on its final share price after an international roadshow set to start in the coming week.
The company is selling 123.1 million of the 320.1 million shares in the IPO.
Meanwhile, selling shareholders, including Mr Ma, Yahoo, and executive vice chairman Joe Tsai, are offering the rest.
Rising internet usage in China and a growing and affluent middle-class helped revenue in the June quarter grow by 46% year-on-year to $2.54bn.
China's biggest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding says it expects to price its initial public offering (IPO) at between $60 and $66 per a share.