In 1975, Li graduated from National Taiwan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics.
He then pursued graduate study in statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, completing a master's of science in 1979, followed by a doctorate in 1981.
[1] Li's doctoral dissertation, Contributions to Robust Design and Estimation Problems, was advised by Jack Kiefer.
He was promoted to a full professorship in 1989, and transferred to the newly established UCLA statistics department in 1999.
[4][5] In his native Taiwan, Li served as editor of the Statistica Sinica, and from 2006, served as director and distinguished research fellow of Academia Sinica's Institute of Statistical Science,[6][4][7] stepping down from the former position in 2012.