Refaeli began her modeling career before the age of one. By the age of fifteen she was featured in campaigns for the fashion brands Castro and Pilpel, also starring in a commercial for Milki. Refaeli won the title "Model of The Year" in a beauty contest in 2000 and 2001. She was also chosen to be the home model of Renuar fashion network and appeared in their summer 2002 and winter 2003 catalogues.

She was cast for fashion production abroad, among them Dim, and appeared in the French ELLE magazine, as well as being the first Israeli model to be featured in Sports Illustrated magazine. The same picture was later published on the cover of Maxim. She appeared on the cover of the March 2006 issue of GQ Italy among many others. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue 2007 where she posed with the Aerosmith.

She is the spokesperson for fashion brand - Luisa Cerano in Fall/Winter 2007 as well as Spring/Summer 2008. She has modeled for Subaru, and is the face of Ac