Gautam received appreciation for her performance. Taran Adarsh writes: "Yami Gautam makes an imposing debut. She adds enormous value to the movie by her act, screen presence and striking looks. She's truly admirable towards the latter part of the film." Madhureeta Mukherjee adds that Gautam "is a sheer delight to watch, emoting effortlessly." She made her Telugu debut with the 2011 film Nuvvila, directed by Ravi Babu. She signed for her second film in Kollywood with Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum opposite Jai. Her second Hindi film was Eeshwar Nivas's Total Siyappa, opposite Ali Zafar, produced by Reliance Entertainment and Neeraj Pandey, which was released in 2014.
In 2012, Gautam made her Bollywood debut with the film Vicky Donor. Upon release, the film was a critical and commercial success, and Gautam gained positive reviews for her performance.
Her following projects included the films Action Jackson (2014), Badlapur (2015), Sanam Re (2016) and Kaabil (2017).
In October 2016, she signed Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar 3, which is the third part of his Sarkar series. She stated that 'Sarker 3' was a great opportunity for her as a performer.
In January 2018, she signed Batti Gul Meter Chalu starring along Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor.
