Tadić spent his youth at hometown club AIK Bačka Topola and Vojvodina, eventually playing in the UEFA Europa League with the latter.

Tadić earned a record 111 caps for Serbia, having made his international debut in 2008; he represented the country at the Olympics in that year,[3] as well as at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2024.

Dušan Tadić grew up honing his skills within the youth ranks of his hometown's club known as AIK Bačka Topola.

Eventually he signed a professional contract with Vojvodina and played his first competitive matches in the Meridian SuperLiga at the age of 18.

His potential in big European games was displayed in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase when he scored a goal against Austria Wien when he was only 20 years old.

[10] He finished his debut season as the team's second-highest scorer with 16 goals in all competitions, two less than Nacer Chadli.

[13] He scored his first Southampton goal on 23 September with a penalty against Arsenal in a 2–1 League Cup victory at Emirates Stadium.

[23][24] On 5 March 2019, Tadić’s goal, two assists and man-of-the-match performance helped knock Real Madrid out of the last 16 of the Champions League, as Ajax unexpectedly won 4–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The Spanish side had won the previous three Champions League titles and had beaten Ajax 2–1 in the first leg in Amsterdam.

[25] Tadić's performance in the game resulted in him becoming the ninth player ever to receive a 10/10 rating from the French football newspaper, L'Equipe.

[40] On 26 July, he made his debut in the Conference League in a 5–0 win against Zimbru at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

[46] On 12 September 2012, he scored his first senior national team goal in his eighth appearance, a 6–1 victory against Wales in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.

[47] Tadić was one of Serbia's most influential players during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, scoring four goals and helping them win their group.

[58] He appeared as a substitute for Aleksandar Mitrović in the team's opening match of the tournament against England, playing the last 29 minutes of the 1–0 loss.