Born in Kingisepp, Leningrad Oblast, he spent the 2000 season at amateur club FC Svetogorets Svetogorsk, helping them win the Northwest regional league by scoring 18 goals.

[citation needed] In 2001 Kerzhakov transferred to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, debuting in March and scoring his first goal in June against Spartak Moscow.

[citation needed] In 2003, Czech manager Vlastimil Petržela used Kerzhakov as a first choice striker and he became the top scorer of the Russian Premier League the following season.

While under Petržela, Kerzhakov started in all four group games of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup and went on to score a hat trick in a 5–1 victory over AEK Athens.

In the knockout stages, Kerzhakov scored against Rosenborg and Olympique de Marseille as Zenit reached the quarterfinals to face Sevilla.

[citation needed] With decreased playing timed following the appointment of Dick Advocaat at Zenit, Kerzhakov transferred to Sevilla in December 2006, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract worth €5 million, as part of the deal of the partnership of the clubs.

[5] After Juande Ramos moved to Tottenham Hotspur in October 2007, Kerzhakov's playing time decreased under caretaker manager Manuel Jiménez.

Being selected behind Luís Fabiano, Frédéric Kanouté, Javier Chevantón, and Arouna Koné, it was speculated that Kerzhakov would quit Sevilla following interest from Tottenham, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain.

[6] According to Russian newspaper Sport-Express, on 30 January 2008, Kerzhakov stated he would stay at Sevilla to help in the La Liga and UEFA Champions League campaigns.

[7] In February 2008, after being left out of Sevilla's Champions League tie against Fenerbahçe, Kerzhakov signed a three-year contract with Russian side Dinamo Moscow.

[citation needed] In January 2010, Kerzhakov rescinded the last year of his contract with Dynamo and returned to his first professional club Zenit St. Petersburg.

[citation needed] During the 2012–13 season, Kerzhakov was a first choice striker in Spalletti's 4-2-3-1 formation, netting 11 goals in the league, including braces against Amkar Perm, Mordovia Saransk, and Spartak Vladikavkaz.

With Spalletti purchasing Salomón Rondón midway through the 2013–14 season, Kerzhakov's playing time decreased amid reports of a strained relationship with the Italian manager.

[14] Villas Boas excluded Kerzhakov from the squad during the 2015–16 season, with the striker making no appearances in the league or European tournaments before being loaned out to FC Zurich.

Two months later, Oleg Romantsev selected Kerzhakov for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as one of four strikers alongside Vladimir Beschastnykh, Ruslan Pimenov, and Dmitri Sychev.

He was on the bench for Russia's first two games against Tunisia and Japan but came on for Valery Karpin against Belgium in the 82nd minute and provided an assist for Sychev in an eventual 3–2 defeat.

[citation needed] Following Euro 2004, Kerzhakov featured regularly under Yartsev during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers and scored a goal against Liechtenstein in March 2005.

[22][23] Yartsev's successor Yuri Semin, continued to select Kerzhakov as he went on to score three goals including a double against Liechtenstein as Russia failed to qualify for final tournament.

[35][36] He did not score again for the rest of the qualification campaign but managed to make three additional appearances as Russia topped Group B to qualify directly for the final tournament.

[37] After Euro 2012, former England manager Fabio Capello utilized Kerzhakov as the first choice striker after dropping Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko, and Pavel Pogrebnyak.

[38] Making Capello's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Kerzhakov appeared as a 71st-minute substitute for Yuri Zhirkov and scored the team's equalising goal three minutes later in the opening match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw with South Korea.

[57] As of 3 October 2024 Zenit Saint Petersburg Sevilla FC Zürich In 2017 became an ambassador of social Football for Friendship international children's forum.