His self-titled debut album was released in 1989, gaining commercial success and critical acclaim with its funk and soul sound.

His following studio album Kreativni nered, released in 1990, maintained his large mainstream popularity in Yugoslavia, however, the outbreak of Yugoslav Wars brought discontinuity in his career.

His eight and last studio album Pandorina kutija was released posthumously during the same year, and was followed by a number of tributes to Dvornik by artists from Croatia and former Yugoslav region.

[5] After Kineski Zid split up, Dean moved to the United States, and Dino Dvornik decided to dedicate himself to a career of a solo artist.

[5] He spent several years practicing and composing, living in London for a period of time, before making a successful debut as a solo artist on the 1988 Zagreb Festival.

[5] The songs "Ljubav se zove imenom tvojim" ("Love Carries Your Name"), "Ti si mi u mislima" ("You Are in My Thoughts"), "Zašto praviš slona od mene" ("Why Are You Making an Elephant out of Me"), with lyrics for the latter written by Zlatan Stipišić, frontman of the hard rock band Osmi Putnik, became nationwide hits.

[5] In 1990, on the MESAM festival he was awarded the first prize by both the jury and the audience for the song "Misliš da sam blesav" ("You Think I'm Crazy").

[8] The album featured guest appearances by Davor Gobac, Daleka Obala frontman Marijan Ban, singer Stjepan "Jimmy" Stanić, Songkillers, and other acts.

The album was produced by Davorin Ilić, with the song "Ne znam kome pripadam" ("I Don't Know Who I Belong To") featuring guest appearance by singer Vanda Vinter.

[9] In 1991, he appeared as guest on the album Ja verujem (I Believe) by rock singer Viktorija, in the duet "Od Splita do Beograda (Ove Noći)" ("From Split to Belgrade (This Night)").

[10] Dvornik composed songs and wrote music arrangements for and produced Oliver Dragojević's 1994 album Neka nova svitanja (Some New Dawns).

[8] In 2010, he appeared on the album Veliki umovi 21. stoljeća (Great Minds of the 21st Century) by the hip hop group Bolesna Braća, singing in the song "Mali dečko" ("Little Boy").

[13] Following Dvornik's death, Dancing Bear record label released the maxi single "Hipnotiziran", featuring three different versions of the song, with remixes done by Sinteks, Jan Peters and Rene aka Maker.

[8] The album was produced by Srđan Sekulović, and included, as a bonus track, the song "Sretan Božić, sretna Nova godina" ("Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year"), with guest appearance by Davor Gobac.

[8] Two years later, a special edition of the album was released, including a DVD with music videos and photographs and a disc with the songs Dvornik was working on before his death.

[8] The songs "Splitska noć" ("Split Night") and "Ko sam onda ja" ("Who Am I, Then") were completed by DJ Haris Ćustović, and the song "Shlapa (Daj mi još tog funka)" ("Shlapa (Give Me More of that Funk))" was completed by hip hop group TBF.

[8] The song "Treba mi zraka" ("I Need Some Air") was completed fifteen years after Dvornik's death by Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv, with their version featuring recordings of Dvornik's vocals, and released on their 2017 album Pjesmice za djecu i odrasle (Little Songs for Children and Grown-Ups).

The release featured accompanying texts written by Josipa Lisac, Gibonni, Alka Vuica and Neno Belan.

[8] The concert featured Dean Dvornik and Kineski Zid, Neno Belan, Josipa Lisac, Gibonni, Davor Gobac, Nina Badrić and other artists.

Croatian band Kawasaki 3P recorded a cover of Dvornik's song "Samo za nju" ("Only for Her") entitled "Snifa sam glu" ("I Was Sniffing Glue") for their 2003 self-titled album.

[8] German saxophonist Angela Puxi recorded a smooth jazz version of Dvornik's song "Pelin i med" in 2015.

[8] In September 2017, in the Rock 'n' Roll Park situated in the garden of Zagreb club Beertija, a monument to Dino Dvornik was unveiled.