Born in
Brasília, Brazil, Hilton started his professional career in 1996 at
Chapecoense and stayed there for three years before moving to
Paraná Clube. After one season there, Hilton move to Europe by joining Swiss side
Servette. At Servette, Hilton quickly established himself in the first team. Hilton scored his first European goal, in the third round; second leg, in a 3–0 win over
Hertha. Sadly, Hilton scored an own goal, in the fourth round; first leg, in a 3–0 loss against
Valencia. Throughout his two-season career at Servette, Hilton made 57 appearances and scoring twice in all competition. Hilton scored his first league goal, on 28 September 2003, in a 3–1 win over
Zürich. In January transfer window 2004, Hilton joined Ligue 1 side
Bastia on six-month loan, which lasted until the end of the season. Hilton played his first game in
Ligue 1, on 7 February 2004, in a 1–0 victory over
Toulouse. On 1 May 2004, Hilton received a straight red card, in a 4–0 loss against
Rennes. Upon return to Servette, Hilton left the club, citing the club's financial problem.
Lens After a loan spell at Bastia, Hilton joined
Lens on a five-year contract. Hilton made his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 0–0 draw against Toulouse and several weeks later, on 21 August 2004, Hilton scored his first goal in Ligue 1, in a 2–0 win over
Istres. Then thirty-two days later, on 22 September 2004, Hilton scored his second goal, in a 2–2 draw against
Paris Saint-Germain. However, his good start at Lens soon faded when Hilton tore his knee ligaments in training, which he will be out for three months. Later in the 2004–05 season, Hilton scored twice in twenty-seven appearances, while the club achieved winning the
Intertoto Cup. Then in 2005–06 season, Hilton scored, again, in a 2–0 win over
Marseille and scored against them, once again, five months later on 4 January 2006. In the first round and first leg of UEFA Cup, Hilton scored in a 1–1 draw against Polish side
Grodzisk. He made 43 appearances in all competitions and scored three times. In the 2006–07 season, Hilton was ever present with 37 appearances in the league and ten appearances in European competitions. He scored twice in the season; against
Bordeaux on 2 December 2006 and another against
Sochaux on 12 February 2007. Trailing behind leaders
Lyon, Hilton would have a problem, himself: injuries, but managed to overcome from the injury. However, in the 2007–08 season, Hilton appearance soon faded, making twenty-three appearances, mainly because of hip injury, which left him out for two months. Despite the injury, he scored twice in the season: against
Valenciennes on 23 January 2008, and against
Derby du Nord rival
Lille, in a 2–1 win on 11 March 2008. In addition, Hilton earned the club's captain band in the absence of
Yohan Demont. The 2007–08 was unachievable for the club as they faced Paris-Saint Germain in the
Coupe de la Ligue Final, but lost 2–1. It couldn't get worse when the club was relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing 18th place. While at Lens, Hilton has established himself as a key figure at the heart of the rearguard and Hilton was named
Trophées UNFP du football's Team of the Year: three times in
2006,
2007 and
2008.
Marseille Following Lens' relegation, Hilton joined
Marseille for €5 million, signing a four-year contract. Hilton made his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 4–4 draw against Rennes. His first goal came on 12 April 2009, in a 4–1 win over
Grenoble. Hilton was almost ever present in the first team, in the European competitions and made thirty-six appearances. His regular start at Marseille earned him
2009 Team of The Year in his fourth consecutive row, which the row ended the next season. However, the 2009–10 season, under new manager
Didier Deschamps, Hilton soon lost his first team place and mainly was on the bench. Also, injuries started to haunt him again. Despite this, Hilton scored twice in the season: One was in the Champions League Group-Stage against Zurich, with a 6–1 win on 3 November 2009 and another came on 8 May 2010, in a 3–2 loss against Lille. At the end of the 2009–10 season, the club won the league title for the first time for 18 years. In 2010–11 season grew worse for Hilton as he made eight appearances. Following his house robbery, Hilton wanted to leave the club and finally left on 1 August 2011, having one-year contract with the club.
Montpellier After leaving Marseille for good, Hilton signed a one-year contract with
Montpellier despite interests from Ligue 1's rival
Evian. Hilton revealed that he's expected to return to his homeland after becoming unsettled in France before joining Montpellier. Hilton made his debut, on 14 August 2011, in a 1–0 win against defending champion Lille. After making seven appearances so far, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–2 draw against Bordeaux. At Montpellier, Hilton helped the club win their first league title after winning 2–1 against already relegated side
Auxerre. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Hilton was named
Trophées UNFP du football's Team of the Year of
2012. During the season, Hilton's contract with Montpellier was extended after the club activated its options to keep him for another year. The following 2012–13 season, Hilton continued to be in the club's first team place, though been used in and out. Hilton played his first European match in over two years, in a 2–1 loss against
Arsenal in the group-stage of the Champions League. Eventually, the club was eliminated from the Champions League after finishing fourth place. Following the departure of
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to
Newcastle United, Hilton was appointed as the club's new captain. On 1 March 2013, Hilton scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Rennes. However, the club was unable to defend their league title as they surrendered it to title chaser Paris Saint Germain, who finished second last season. The club finished ninth place, far from missing out of European competitions. Despite this, Hilton signed a one-year contract with the club, until 2014. On 7 February 2017, Hilton scored Montpellier's goal in a 2–1 home defeat to
AS Monaco, becoming, at the age of 39, the oldest Ligue 1 goalscorer until
Benjamin Nivet scored for
Troyes AC in April 2018. On 3 February 2019, Hilton started against Nîmes and in doing so, he become the oldest player to feature in a Ligue 1 match in the 21st century at the age of 41 years and 143 days, thus breaking the previous record set up by Benjamin Nivet by six days. On 15 September 2020, just two days after his 43rd birthday, he become the first player since
Roger Courtois in 1956 to play a match in Ligue 1 at the age of 43 when he featured in Montpelier's 2–1 victory over Lyon. However, he was also sent off in the 81st minute. In June 2021, Hilton announced that he would be leaving Montpellier following the expiration of his contract on 1 July. The same day, he announced his retirement from football.
Sète In October 2021 Hilton stated his desire to return to playing. After training with
Béziers, he joined
Championnat National club
Sète on a five-month contract on 1 February 2022. ==Personal life==