He announced it without warning.
It will not be a final race with great courtship in the finish in Östersund later this week.
His departure from the World Cup was the third skier in the mixed relay in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, on Sunday where he had to take two extra shots on his route.
Germany finished ninth, 3.38 after winning Norway.
- It is not an easy decision to make after such a long time.
However, I have long felt that it would be ideal to end my career after this season, the German writes on his Facebook.
Won the World Cup as recently as December
- It is fantastic to stop and still feel that I can compete, Peiffer writes.
There were 13 seasons in the World Cup and the Olympic gold in the sprint over 10 km in Pyeongchang 2018 is the highlight together with the five World Cup golds, including in the distance over 20 km in Östersund 2019.
In total, there were 20 Olympic and World Cup medals.
His best place in the overall World Cup is four fourth places.
The latest individual win in the World Cup came just before Christmas when he won the mass start over 15 in Hochfilzen.