[1][4] Zhang became the fourth male player in the history of table tennis to achieve a career Grand Slam when he won gold in men's singles at the Olympic games in London 2012.

He won, consecutively, first WTTC 2011, then World Cup 2011, and then London Olympics 2012, which made him the fastest player ever to win a Grand Slam.

[citation needed] After a few months, he won the 2011 World Cup in Paris by defeating Joo-Sae Hyuk 4–1, Wang Hao 4–2 in the final.

Zhang Jike also won the gold medal in the team event but on the way lost to Timo Boll in the semi-final against Germany.

He won the Gold Medal beating Fan Zhendong, Robert Gardos, Gustavo Tsuboi, Patrick Baum, Xu Xin and Wang Hao in the finals.

At the 2015 WTTC, he lost to Fang Bo 1–4, but partnering with Xu Xin he won the gold medal in the doubles event.

At the Japan Open, he was back in form again and defeated Lin Yun-ju, Jonathan Groth, Liang Jiangkun and Jin Ueda.

On June 1, 2018, he participated in the FIVB Tour China Open, losing 0-4 to Tomokazu Harimoto in the first round of the men's singles.

Among all the Chinese National team players, he is known for having the best backhand technique, often using it in the forehand corner, especially when returning heavy under-spin serves and pushes.

When Zhang Jike initially joined the national team, the coaches were apprehensive about his forehand technique and thought about changing it completely.

But Xiao Zhan, the then personal coach of Zhang Jike, noticed the explosive technique of his forehand and backhand strokes and instead retained them.

The side-spin on the serve, together with his backhand flicks, above-average footwork and top-class anticipation has proved to be an ideal combination as he is capable to "open up" topspin rallies to his advantage.

It is noticeable that he would play with a backhand oriented game plan against big forehand loopers like Ma Long or Fan Zhendong.

However, Zhang managed to lead his hometown team, Shandong, to the 2014 Chinese Table Tennis Super League championship, and he won the World Cup again in October.