Zhang made her Hollywood debut as a villain in the 2001 action comedy film Rush Hour 2 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

[6] One of the most recognisable Asian actresses in the Western world, Time called her "China's gift to Hollywood" in 2005.

[13][14] In her freshman year, Zhang made her acting debut in the television film Touching Starlight.

[17] Zhang rose to international fame in 2000 with her role as Yu Jiaolong in Ang Lee's re-visioned wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

[18][19] Zhang plays a young Manchu noblewoman who has secretly learned martial arts and runs off to become a wandering swordswoman rather than commit to an arranged marriage.

[23] Zhang then appeared in her first American film, Rush Hour 2 (2001) opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

On playing her first villain role, Zhang expressed that "the opportunity to sort of try and analyze the psyche of the character and get to know and pull out emotions I’ve never had to utilize before...was very exciting.

[32] She also featured on the House of Flying Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem Jia Rén Qu (佳人曲, The Beauty Song).

[33] Zhang next starred in Wong Kar-wai's romantic drama film 2046 (2004), which featured many top Chinese actors and actresses.

[34] Critics praise Zhang for her "expressive" body language that was combined with her "reserved and complex emotions" in performance as a struggling prostitute.

[37] Next came Princess Raccoon (2005), directed by Japan's Seijun Suzuki, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

[38] Zhang played the lead role of Sayuri in the American film adaptation based on the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha.

[45] Zhang returned to China in 2006 for the Chinese wuxia film The Banquet, directed by Feng Xiaogang.

[48] In the same year, Zhang starred alongside Liu Ye and Ge You in the first-ever opening short for the Chinese academy awards (Golden Rooster Awards) where director Dayyan Eng got top stars to spoof the action-movie genre in a humorous send-up on national TV in China.

[52][53] Back in China, she played the titular character in romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge (2009); a comic book artist seeking to punish her unfaithful boyfriend.

[57] The same year, she was cast in the coming-of-age film Forever Young directed and written by Li Fangfang.

[59] Zhang reunited with Wong Kar-wai and Tony Leung for The Grandmaster (2013), which also marks her return to the martial arts genre after 7 years since The Banquet (2006).

[63] Described as Zhang's "breakthrough comedy role", the film topped Chinese box office on the week of its release.

[66] Zhang next starred in romance anthology film Run for Love[67] and crime epic The Wasted Times.

[89] In the July 2006 issue of Interview magazine, Zhang spoke of her movies' contents and being careful about the roles she took on, especially in Hollywood: After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles—poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever.

[90]Zhang obtained Hong Kong residency in 2007 through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme for her contribution to the local film industry.

Following this, Zhang entered into a relationship with Israeli American venture capitalist Aviv "Vivi" Nevo in 2007, which led to an engagement; however, the couple parted ways in 2010.