In April 2009, he became the head coach of the China national team but was sacked in August 2011 and replaced by José Antonio Camacho.

In 1994, he left the team to play in Singapore for Tiong Bahru CSC citing the difficulty to pass the physical standard test of the Chinese Football Association.

After winning the best scorer in Singapore's FAS Premier League with Tiong Bahru in 1994, Gao Hongbo would return to the newly formed fully professional Beijing Guoan club and would immediately make in impact when he scored 21 times in the following two years.

He would make his senior debut on April 4, 1992, as a substitute in a friendly against USA in a game where China lost 5–0 to achieve their biggest recorded defeat.

[3] Despite the defeat he would still be included in the squad that took part in qualification for the 1992 AFC Asian Cup where he even scored his debut goal against Malaysia on April 23, 1992.

After several years out of the team, new manager Bobby Houghton would bring Gao back in to play several friendlies and a World Cup Qualifier against Vietnam that China won 3–1 on May 25, 1997, which was to be his last game before he retired.

He would, however quickly run into trouble with his players and would leave the club after only 11 matches despite having a decent start to the season and he would go abroad to study coaching.

Although the team eliminated South Korea despite Koreaphobia and qualified from group stage in the AFC U-17 Championship 2000, the 1–7 defeat to Japan essentially ended his job.

Serbian Vladimir Petrovic was the last full-time coach but his contract was not renewed after China was eliminated from the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Above all, Wei Di, the chief of the Chinese Football Association, stressed that, "Anytime, no matter win or loss, they must show their team spirit and courage.

[6] With the two positive results against Germany and Iran, hopes have been raised amongst Chinese fans that Hongbo will lead the national team into a new, more prosperous era.

This led to a revival in interest amongst some Chinese football fans, as China had also won 1–0 against France in June 2010, as well as holding World Cup quarter finalists Paraguay to a 1–1 draw in September 2010.

[8] In September 2015, Gao was appointed as the assistant to manager Henk Fräser at Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag, a Dutch football team owned by Chinese Sports Marketing Company United Vansen.

In the last match, China must win Qatar while waiting North Korea, Jordan, Syria, Oman, the UAE and Iraq (Kuwait is being banned) to fail to defend their positions.

[10] Tiong Bahru CSC Beijing Guoan Xiamen Hongshi Changchun Yatai China PR national football team