Judge William Pauley said Cohen deserved a harsh punishment for tax evasion, lying to Congress and arranging payments to silence two women who posed a risk to Mr Trump's presidential campaign.
The judge rejected arguments by Cohen's lawyers that he should be spared jail because he cooperated in investigations involving the US president, saying this "does not wipe the slate clean" of his crimes.
Cohen earlier walked into court in Manhatten with his wife, son and daughter amid a crowd of photographers and reporters.
He said his "blind loyalty" to Mr Trump made him feel a duty to "cover up" the president's "dirty deeds".
"It was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to this man that led me to choose a path of darkness over light," Cohen told the judge during the sentencing hearing today.
Cohen's crimes included evading 1.4million dollars in taxes and misleading Congress about his talks with Russians about a Trump Tower project in Moscow.
Prosecutors said Cohen, just before the November 2016 election, paid adult film Ms Daniels $130,000 and helped arrange a $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal so the women would keep quiet about their past relationships with Mr Trump.
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