[2] In 206 BC, Fan noticed that Liu Bang, a rebel leader who had led his followers to join the Chu rebel group earlier, was particularly popular and ambitious, he constantly urged Xiang Yu to find opportunities to kill Liu Bang in case the latter posed a threat to him in the future.

In 204 BC, during the Chu–Han Contention, when Liu Bang was besieged by Xiang Yu at the Battle of Xingyang, he requested to make peace.

When Xiang Yu wanted to accept Liu Bang's peace offer, Fan strongly objected to it, warning him that he would regret his decision.

[2] Xiang Yu initially heeded Fan's advice and continued attacking Liu Bang.

"[5]Fan died of illness on his journey home in Pengcheng (彭城; present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu) and was buried there.

One yeshi（野史; "unofficial historical record") mentioned that Fan lived in retirement under a different identity at Mount Jiuzhe (九遮山) in present-day Tiantai County, Zhejiang, where he worked as a healer and still kept himself up-to-date with current affairs.