The notorious fugitive is being taken back to the same maximum-security prison he escaped from back in July, after using an elaborate tunnel which had been dug to his shower stall.
Handcuffed, Guzman was bundled into a military helicopter after being forced to face the media.
Announcing his detainment on Twitter, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote: "Mission accomplished: We got him. I want to inform Mexicans that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been arrested."
Guzman was captured after a shootout with Mexican marines in his home state of Sinaloa, according to reports.
Five of the drug lord's henchmen are believed to have been killed in the battle and one marine was injured, while six suspects were arrested following the dawn raid.
The marine's injuries were not life threatening.
Two armoured vehicles, eight long guns, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher by the squad who captured him.
Guzman humiliated the Mexican authorities when he broke out of his prison cell through the mile-long tunnel - and CCTV pictures of the escape showed him calmly leaving the compound.
The Mexican government announced it was offering a 60 million peso (£2.5m) reward for information leading to Guzman's capture.
Despite the huge bounty, Guzman appeared ready to taunt the authorities, with a blog that monitors Mexico's drug war publishing photos purportedly showing him flying in a plane and enjoying a beer since his escape.
The head of the Sinaloa drug cartel was said to have been injured in October while escaping from an attempt to recapture him by security forces.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration said it was "extremely pleased" by Guzman's recapture.
On Twitter, it said it saluted "the bravery involved in his capture".
The US Justice Department did not immediately comment on whether it would seek his extradition.
Guzman had previously evaded capture for years in the rugged mountains of Sinaloa state after he escaped from another maximum security prison in 2001.
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