In 2017, Zhou starred in her first film work,
Beyond Belief, which was released in 2019. In 2019, Zhou made her debut in the film
Better Days, earning recognition for her antagonist role as a bully. For her portrayal of the role, she was subsequently nominated for the "Most Promising Actress" on the
China Movie Channel (CCTV-6) M List as well as the "Best Supporting Actress" at the 27th
Huading Awards, 14th
Asian Film Awards and
33rd Golden Rooster Awards. On July 11, 2020, she participated in the recording of the game variety show
Happy Camp's summer special program "Stand Firm" broadcast on
Hunan Satellite TV. On February 22, 2021, the costume martial arts web series
Word of Honor was aired on
Youku, and Zhou played the weird little girl witch, Gu Xiang. On May 4, the revolutionary historical drama
The Cradle was broadcast, in which she played Tang Susu, a childcare worker. On May 13, she joined
Tencent Video's variety show
Wonderland (50km Taohuawu) as one of the "residents" (cast members). On May 14, she participated in the fourth episode of
Zhejiang Satellite TV's variety show
Keep Running Season 5. On June 12, she won the award of "Promising Actress of the Year" at the
Weibo Movie Night 2021. On June 21, the youth campus drama
Reset in July was aired on
Tencent Video, with Zhou playing the supporting role of Liu Xichuan. On July 1, the historical film
1921 celebrating the
100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party was released and Zhou played
Yang Kaihui in the film. On July 9, the film she starred in,
Chinese Doctors, adapted from true stories in the fight against
COVID-19, was released nationwide. On July 30, she participated in
Hunan Satellite TV's business experience variety show
Chinese Restaurant Season 5. On November 19, the film about the
Second Sino-Japanese War,
Railway Heroes, was released nationwide, with Zhou playing the nurse Zhuang Yan. On January 26, 2022, Zhou collaborated with
Xiao Shunyao, Jiang Yiqiao and
Hou Minghao at the 2022
Hunan Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala to sing the opening song "Fu Hu Yao Qing Chun". On April 22, she participated in the seventh episode of
Zhejiang Satellite TV's variety show
Ace vs Ace Season 7. On January 22, 2023, she participated in the 2023
Dragon TV Spring Festival Gala and cooperated with
Wang Anyu to cover the song "
You Are My Magic" of
Accusefive. On April 23, the TV series
Youth in the Flames of War was broadcast, with her playing the role of Lin Huajun, the campus belle of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of
Peking University during the years in the
National Changsha Provisional University. On April 28, the
romance film Yesterday Once More was released, in which she co-starred with
Arthur Chen and played Han Shuyan. On May 9, the costume fantasy romance series
Back from the Brink was aired on
Youku, in which she co-starred with
Hou Minghao and played Yan Hui. On August 8, the
crime film No More Bets was released and Zhou played the girlfriend of the scam victim in the film. On September 9, the romance fantasy film
Flaming Cloud she starred in was released nationwide. On October 13, the costume series
Scent of Time was aired on
Youku, in which she co-starred with
Wang Xingyue and played Hua Qian. On March 1, 2024, the urban romance series
Everyone Loves Me was aired on
Youku and aired on March 19 on
Netflix, in which Zhou co-starred with
Lin Yi and played the game concept designer Yue Qianling. On June 22, the film
Moments We Shared she co-starred with
Peng Yuchang was released, in which she played Cheng Shuang. On August 6, 2025, the historical drama,
Legend of The Female General was aired on Tencent Video, Hunan TV,
Mango TV, and
iQiyi. The drama is based on the novel of the same name that Zhou Ye portrays a female general, starring with
Cheng Lei. On February 10 2026, Zhou participated in the CCTV 2026 Online Spring Festival Gala. == Philanthropic activities ==