He made his Russian Premier League debut for Dynamo on 28 April 2007 in a game against FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok, at the age of 17, as a last-minute substitute for Cícero.

[3] Returning from loan, Smolov started 2011–12 season as a squad player, but after 9 matchdays his impact was limited to substitute appearances.

[citation needed] On 2 June 2015, Smolov signed a four-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Krasnodar as a free agent.

[11] With 20 goals in 29 games, he became the top scorer of the 2015–16 Russian Premier League season, and he is the first Krasnodar player who achieved this title.

[citation needed] On 12 January 2022, Dynamo announced the signing of Fyodor from Lokomotiv, making him return to the first club in his professional career.

[21] He was an important factor in the U-21 team qualifying for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the next cycle, scoring three goals in the qualification play-offs against the Czech Republic.

[citation needed] On 6 November 2012, Russia manager Fabio Capello included Smolov in the squad for a friendly game against the United States.

[31] He has supported AC Milan since the 1997–98 season and once cited George Weah and Andriy Shevchenko as his childhood favorite players.

[33] On April 5, 2020 Smolov broke Spain's coronavirus protocols to return to Russia to celebrate the 18th birthday of his fiancee Maria Yumasheva, the granddaughter of Boris Yeltsin.