In 2002, Wu appeared in the commercial of Chinese dietary supplement brand Huang Jin Da Dang, and featured in more than fifty commercials in the next two years. He made his acting debut in Chinese television drama, The Legend and the Hero (2007) where he portrayed Nezha.

In 2014, Wu featured in wuxia drama Romance of the Condor Heroes produced by Yu Zheng, and received acclaim for his portrayal of young Yang Guo.

In 2015, Wu starred as Li Xiaoyao in the web drama Pal Inn and endorsed the video of game of the same name. The series gained over 300 million views, and became a popular topic online. This was followed by well-received supporting turns in youth sports drama The Whirlwind Girl and wuxia drama Nirvana in Fire, which led to increased recognition for Wu.

In 2017, Wu took on his first small screen leading role in the fantasy web drama, Magic Star. He also co-starred in the British-Chinese action thriller S.M.A.R.T. Chase directed by Charles Martin; as well as Chinese-New Zealand production Into the Rainbow.

In 2018, Wu starred in the fantasy epic Asura. Coined as China’s most expensive production with a budget of $110 million, the film was a box office bomb and was pulled from cinemas only two days after its premiere. Wu then returned to the small screen in the fantasy adventure series The Tomb of Sea, written by the author of Daomu Biji; and starred in Battle Through the Heavens, a fantasy action drama based on the popular xianxia novel of the same name. The same year, he featured in historical film Shadow by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou. Forbes China listed Wu under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields.

In 2020, Wu was cast in the historical drama The Long Ballad. The same year, he starred in the historical fantasy drama Guardians of the Ancient Oath, and esports drama Cross Fire.