Yoon Ji-sung joined the second season of the Mnet idol competition Produce 101 in April 2017, where he finished in eight place. This earned him a spot in the show’s derivative boy group Wanna One. They debuted in August 2017 with the extended play 1×1=1 (To Be One). In November of that year, they released the mini album’s repackaged version called 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You). The combined sales of their first two albums exceeded one million. In October 2018, the group released their first studio album called 1¹¹=1 (Power of Destiny). In February 2019, Yoon Ji-sung made his solo debut with the extended play Aside.


Yoon Ji-sung starred in the musical The Days in early 2019. In May of that year, he enlisted for his mandatory military service. He then appeared in the army musical Return. His performance in The Days and Return earned him a Rookie Musical Actor nomination at the 2019 Stagetalk Audience Choice Awards. He was discharged from the military in December 2021. The following year, he made his TV acting debut as one of the leads in the SBS musical drama Let Me Be Your Knight.