After Marshal Peng Dehuai returned to China for medical treatment, Deng Hua became the Acting Commander and Political Commissar.

In February 1928, he participated in the Xiangnan Uprising led by Zhu De and Chen Yi, and served as an officer in the 7th Division of the Chinese Red Army.

In 1950, Deng Hua became the First Deputy Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and was the main assistant of Marshal Peng Dehuai.

In September 1956, at the Eighth National Congress of the CPC, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

In 1977, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Deng was completely rehabilitated and restored to his military rank, and also became Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.