Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 25, pleaded guilty to attempting to blow up a commercial plane as a would-be suicide mission for al-Qaeda.
His family quickly called on the US government to review the sentence.
Abdulmutallab was badly burned when a bomb sewn into his underwear failed to detonate fully, prosecutors said.
Almost 300 people were on the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Some of the passengers from the flight were in the courtroom as Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds announced the sentence.
"This was an act of terrorism that cannot be quibbled with," Judge Edmunds said, as she imposed the maximum sentence.
The son of a Nigerian banker and a former engineering student at University College London, Abdulmutallab faced eight counts against him, including terrorism and attempted murder.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a militant group based in Yemen, said it was behind the attempted attack.
Bolder, strongerIn statement to the BBC, the family of Abdulmutallab said they were "grateful to God that the unfortunate incident of that date did not result in any injury or death".
"We strongly appeal to the American justice department to review the life sentence," they said. "We also appeal to the Federal Republic of Nigeria to continue with their support and engage with the American government to ensure that a review is made."
Ahead of the sentencing, assistant defence lawyer Anthony Chambers argued that a life sentence for Abdulmutallab would be unconstitutional, since no other passengers were hurt.
Sentencing guidelines directed the judge to impose a mandatory life sentence, but Mr Chambers appealed for a lighter term.
"Not one passenger lost his or her life. Not one passenger suffered life-threatening injuries," he said.
Prosecutors said a life sentence was warranted because an attempted terror attack heightens public fear and burdens airports with expensive and time-consuming security procedures.
As part of the sentencing hearing, four passengers and a crew member aboard Flight 253 made statements, telling the judge the event had forever changed their lives.
A video from the FBI showing the power of the explosive material found in Abdulmutallab's underwear was also shown at the hearing. As the video played Abdulmutallab twice said loudly "Allahu akbar" - Arabic for "God is great".
Abdulmutallab himself made a brief statement. During the short trial, he had fired his lawyer and attempted to represent himself.
"Mujahideen are proud to kill in the name of God," he said in court. "And that is exactly what God told us to do in the Quran... Today is a day of victory."
"In quick response to some of the things that have been said, I say my life and the lives of Muslims have also changed due to the attacks on innocent civilians," he added.
Failed to detonateOn the second day of his trial, in October, Abdulmutallab unexpectedly declared that he would plead guilty to all charges.
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