Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a princess in the epic action film Veer and subsequently appeared in the popular item number "Character Dheela" in the 2011 comedy Ready.

She got her breakthrough with the role of a glamorous model in the 2012 comedy Housefull 2, that ranks as her highest-grossing release till date.

Following a leading role in the 2014 Punjabi film Jatt James Bond, she returned to Bollywood, starring in the 2015 erotic thriller Hate Story 3.

[10] Khan's acting career began while visiting the set of Yuvvraaj[11] at Subhash Ghai's film school Whistling Woods.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama observed that "Zarine resembles Katrina Kaif, but wears one expression all through".

Critic Subhash K. Jha called her performance a "Zarine's charm adds to her adorable screen presence."

Khan earned critical acclaim for her performance, with Taran Adarsh stating, "Zarine act more as eye candy.

In 2013, Khan made her Tamil debut in Vetrimaaran's Naan Rajavaga Pogiren, in which she did an item number in the song "Malgove" alongside Nakul Jaidev.

The same year, she also appeared in another item song named "Mahi Ve" in the film Wajah Tum Ho.

[35] Umesh Punwani from Koimoi.com wrote, ''Zareen Khan does good in parts but sadly she is majorly used for the skin show.

''[41] In January 2018, Khan signed Ashok Nanda's action film One Day: Justice Delivered, in which she was set to portray the role of a police officer.

[43] In 2019, she made her Telugu debut with action-thriller film Chanakya, which received mixed reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office.