Millions in Israel are voting in what is expected to be a close race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party and a centre-left alliance.
The centre-left Zionist Union promises to repair relations with Palestinians and the international community.
Mr Netanyahu, whose party has trailed in opinion polls, vowed on Monday not to allow the creation of a Palestinian state if he wins a fourth term.
The economy and living standards have emerged as key issues.
Polls opened at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) and are due to close at 22:00.
Results could be declared soon afterwards, but a lengthy period of negotiations over the formation of the next coalition government may follow.
No party has ever won an outright majority under Israel's proportional representation voting system, and neither side is expected to get more than a quarter of the votes in Tuesday's election.
Mr Netanyahu, 65, called early elections late last year, in an attempt to form a more stable coalition.
Opinion polls published before the weekend suggested that the Zionist Union was likely to win the most seats, though it may still be possible for Mr Netanyahu to form a coalition government even if his Likud party fails to top the poll.
At the scene: Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Tel Aviv
Likud officials are preparing in a huge auditorium for a celebration that they can't be sure they'll be in a position to hold.
Of course it isn't over 'til it's over so the bunting, the pumping disco music and the giant video backdrop showing the great and good of the party may not go to waste.
The talk here is of Mr Netanyahu's plan to make a last-minute television appeal and the way in which it was overruled by the national electoral commission.
Would it have looked a little desperate or did Mr Netanyahu calculate that it would be banned, outraging supporters who'd then be motivated to vote at the last minute?
Whatever the thinking, it's given the closing hours of this long campaign a twist of drama.
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