In December 2010, Zhang Yixing took part in a dance performance as an open trainee for fellow group SHINee's first tour of Japan, dancing in place of injured member Jonghyun.
On January 17, 2012, Zhang Yixing made his debut as a member of SM's boy band EXO, releasing a teaser photo for his solo debut, revealing his stage name as LAY, and revealing his first solo dance teaser, "PHOENIX Phoenix". On April 8, 2012, EXO-M showed their debut stage at the 12th Music Chart Awards Ceremony in Shenzhen, China, and Zhang Yixing made his official debut as a Chinese member of the SM group EXO and its sub-team EXO-M. On December 29, 2012, Zhang Yixing, as the only Chinese lead dancer, and the elite dancers of SM's male groups, assembled as "SM7" to participate in the recording of the special stage of S.M. The Performance for SBS Song Battle.
On September 28, 2013, Zhang Yixing appeared in a special collaboration with teammate KAI and Girls' Generation member Kim Hyoyeon on MENT's dance competition show Dancing 9. In December 2013, EXO returned with the lyrical song "December Miracle," and Zhang Yixing accompanied them on stage during the song. And at the EXO Japan FANMEETING held in April 2014, Jang Ye Hye Hyung again performed piano accompaniment.
On May 23, 2014, during EXO's Seoul concert, Zhang Yixing made public his self-composed song "I'm Lay". in June 2014, Zhang Yixing began to carry out activities in China in his personal name, and has hosted the "Music Chart", "Global Chinese Music Chart", and participated in the recording of "Star Chef Driving", "Star's Secret Room", and "The Generation Show" variety shows. On September 19, 2014, Zhang Yixing and his teammate CHEN were invited to participate in CCTV5's special program for the Incheon Asian Games, where they were transformed into special reporters and visited the CCTV studio. During the Hunan TV New Year's Eve concert on December 31, 2014, Zhang Yixing once again revealed his self-composed song "I'm Coming", showing off his dancing skills solo amidst the smoke.
On February 11, 2015, Zhang Yixing joined the CCTV Network Spring Festival Gala, co-hosting with Zhang Quanling, Ren Luyu, and Liuyan, and serving as a sharing ambassador interacting with performers and netizens. March 7, in the EXO Seoul second tour concert, Zhang Yixing publicized the self-composed "agreement" , and with teammates *** with singing, this song is also included in the EXO follow-up album "love me right", Zhang Yixing is also the first member of a personal original song included in the group album. On March 18, Zhang Yixing co-starred with Chen Xuedong and Li Xiaolu in the sci-fi romantic comedy movie "Descending from the Sky" directed by brothers Wei Nan and Wei Min, which is also Zhang Yixing's first movie in which he starred. On March 25, Zhang Yixing participated in the recording of the Chinese version of "Running Brothers" as a guest, Zhang Yixing had previously participated in the South Korean version of "Running Man" and had a good performance, he also became the first Chinese star to appear in both versions of the "Running Man" in China and South Korea. On May 4, Zhang Yixing co-starred with Zheng Kai and Guo Caijie in the romantic movie "Ex 2: The Spare Tire Strikes Back" directed by Tian Yusheng. On May 13, Zhang Yixing joined Oriental TV's large-scale inspirational experience reality show "Ultimate Challenge" as a regular member. On June 23, Zhang Yixing won the championship in the "Stars Love Smile, Support to New York" online voting activity initiated by ZUK cell phone, and became a "smile" star on the 12 big screens in Times Square of New York City, occupying the "Crossroads of the World". The "Crossroads of the World" has been occupied for 10 days, delivering smiles and positive energy to the world. On August 18th, Zhang Yixing acted in his first TV series "Mr. Good", and the official character poster was exposed, in which Zhang Yixing acted as "Xiao Cai". On September 17, Zhang Yixing premiered his first semi-autobiographical graphic collection "And Standing -24", and the 24-minute sale of nearly 70,000 copies set a new record for pre-sale activities in the book industry. On September 26, Zhang Yixing joined the Chinese-Indian co-production "Kung Fu Yoga" directed by Tang Jili and starring Jackie Chan. On October 3, Zhang Yixing appeared in the movie "Extreme Challenge", which reunited the original team of Extreme Challenge. October 7, Zhang Yixing "understanding, accompaniment, anticipation" 24-year-old theme birthday party held in Shanghai Grand Stage, Zhang Yixing in the birthday party for the first time announced five original new songs, and because of the positive image of the artist, the world's largest outdoor LED lighting curtain wall in Shanghai to undertake Zhang Yixing's birthday support is also the first time celebrity fans! Support activities. On October 10th, EXO became the first artist group to sing on the Korea Dome, and Zhang Yixing also became the first Chinese artist to sing on the Korea Dome. October 12, Zhang Yixing was invited to attend the Jordan 30th anniversary series of celebrations, in person, "Jordan Flying General Administration", and became the first in the "winning space" in the first throw into the shutout star, the same day Master Kong official microblogging announced that Zhang Yixing The same day, Master Kong's official microblogging announced that Zhang Yixing has become the new spokesman for Master Kong's family member "Water". On October 14, Zhang Yixing performed his original song as the first guest of honor at the NBA International Game China halftime show. On November 3, 2015 Asian Influence Oriental Gala was held in Beijing, and Zhang Yixing was honored as the "2015 Asian Influence Most Influential All-round Artist". On November 4, Zhang Yixing was confirmed to star in the Republican suspense TV series "Old Nine Gates", which was adapted from the original novel by Uncle Nanpai Sanji, in which he played the role of February Hong, the second leader of the Old Nine Gates and a famous actor of Changsha Flower Drum Opera. On November 5, Zhang Yixing attended the 2015 Fashion Cosmo Beauty Ceremony and won the "Beauty Idol of the Year" award. On November 6, Zhang Yixing starred in the movie "Ex 2: The Spare Tire Strikes Back", which was officially released. Zhang Yixing personally composed the lyrics and sang the movie theme song "Alone". On November 12, the Chinese men's football team ushered in the 40th round of the World Cup qualifiers in Changsha, and Zhang Yixing led the singing of the national anthem at the scene to cheer for the national football team. On November 15, Zhang Yixing attended the "Wind from the East" Entertainment Influence Ceremony and won the "Annual Music Pioneer" award. On December 2, EXO attended the 2015 MAMA Asian Music Awards. On December 4, starring in the movie "Descend from the Sky", Zhang Yixing created and sang the movie theme song "Youthful Happiness". On December 18, Zhang Yixing was invited to be the ambassador of the 15th Movie Channel Film "Lily Award", attending the red carpet and award ceremony; confirmed to star in the fashionable romantic comedy film "Shut Up! Love" and attended the movie conference and launching ceremony.
On January 5, 2016, Zhang Yixing officially became the new spokesperson of the Lay's family and shot the Lay's potato chips advertisement for the Year of the Monkey. On January 11, Zhang Yixing was invited to be the first Asian spokesperson for the Korean hip brand Pancoat. On January 15, Zhang Yixing starred in the movie "Extreme Challenge", which was released nationwide. On January 23, Master Kong's New Year's microfilm "Legend of Seeking New Year", in which Zhang Yixing acted, was broadcasted on online platforms. On February 29, Zhang Yixing was nominated for the "Best New Actor Award" at the 18th Huading Awards. On April 5, the official microblog of Vicks announced that Zhang Yixing became the spokesperson of Vicks in China and the first male brand ambassador of Vicks in Asia. On April 9, Zhang Yixing and other EXO members attended the 16th annual Music Chart ceremony, returning to the debut stage and presenting a performance. In addition to the group awards, Zhang Yixing also won the "Most Popular Movie Song of the Year" and the Most Popular Newcomer of the Year individual awards with his original song "Alone".