She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, earning a gold medal in the women's 10 meter synchronized platform diving along with her team partner Lao Lishi.

In 2001, the sisters teamed up to represent Guangxi in the 9th National Games in Guangzhou and won bronze medal in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform event.

A year later, the two teamed up again to win a gold medal for China in the synchronized 10 metre platform event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

[6] In 2005, after the 2004 Summer Olympics, Li switched to the 3-meter springboard event and replaced Wu Minxia, forming a partnership with Guo Jingjing.

It was only in the absence of Guo Jingjing in the 2005 FINA Grand Prix in the United States that she defeated Wu Minxia and won her first international championship in the individual event.

Such excellent results helped Wu regain her position as a partner with Guo Jingjing and the duo continued to win in all subsequent competitions.

As a result of this mistake, this put both Li and He in a very disadvantageous position in the trials and in the end, they were not selected for the national squad in the 16th Diving World Cup and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

[14][1] She made a brief comeback at the 2011 National Diving Championships held in Tianjin, China, where she attained sixth position in the 1-meter springboard before fading into obscurity again.

[21] Li served as the deputy director of the Guangxi Aquatic Sports Development Center, focusing on rebuilding and enhancing diving from both managerial and technical perspectives.