Song is one of the regular cast members of the South Korean variety show Running Man since 2010, which brought her international recognition.

Song then received wider recognition for her roles in the film A Frozen Flower (2008), New World (2013), the TV series Emergency Couple (2014) and Was It Love?

Song dreamed of becoming an actress during her high school years after watching Park Shin-yang in the 1998 South Korean film, Promise.

[4] Song made her television debut in the romantic comedy, Princess Hours (2006), where she played a ballet dancer who dreams to be a ballerina.

Song experienced a rise in popularity and was nominated for Best New Actress in the TV category at the 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance.

[10] Song then portrayed the role of Queen in Yoo Ha's film A Frozen Flower (2008), alongside Jo In-sung and Joo Jin-mo.

[12] After her contract ended with Namoo Actors, Song signed with C-JeS Entertainment in early 2011 and appeared in Choo Chang-min's film Late Blossom (2011).

[13] She reunited with Jumong co-star Song Il-gook in the police procedural television series Detectives in Trouble (2011) where she played a role as a reporter.

[16] Song then co-starred alongside Kim Jae-joong of JYJ in the action comedy Code Name: Jackal (2012) where she played a clumsy assassin.

[26] In 2016, Song was cast alongside Taiwanese actor Chen Bolin in the reality variety show We Are In Love, the Chinese version of We Got Married.

[27] Song then starred in two Chinese films, the romantic drama 708090 opposite Kenji Wu and the action comedy Super Express.

[28][29] She then made her small-screen comeback, starring in the remake of a Japanese television series Listen to Love co-starring Lee Sun-kyun.

[53][54] In 2001, Song made her debut as magazine cover model and has appeared in various commercials such as Boryeong Pharmaceutical's Nook, Paris Baguette, LG Household & Health Care's Cash Cat, Lotte Confectionery's Natuur Ice Cream, HiteJinro, SK Telecom's TTL, Pantene shampoo, and Nongshim's raw udon.

[56] A representative revealed that Song was chosen due to her "ability to express a variety of emotions from an intelligent image to cute feelings".

"[60] On April 30, 2016, Song Jihyo walked her First-Ever fashion runway With Hong Jonghyun as the main models of the Hallyu collaboration fashion show "Very Korean," which featured Korean designer brands like katiacho sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Foundation for Cultural Exchange which was held in Beijing, China.

[60] Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) acknowledged that Song Ji-hyo not only demonstrated her influence and her popularity throughout Asia, but also her significant role in the spread of Hallyu's commercial success.

[67] UNB's Euijin,[68] actor Lee Tae-hwan[69] and Olympic figure skater Cha Jun-hwan[70] mentioned her as an ideal type.