He was the favorite to win another gold in the 110 metre hurdles at the Beijing Olympics,[7] but he had to withdraw from competition at the last moment after a false start and aggravation to a previously unrevealed injury.

[12] In May 2004 at an IAAF Grand Prix race in Osaka, Japan, Liu managed to beat Allen Johnson with a personal best record time of 13.06 seconds.

Although he was not considered a favourite for the event[citation needed], he won the Olympic final by some distance to pocket the gold medal with 12.91 seconds, tying the world record set by Colin Jackson 11 years before.

"[15] Liu, a 21-year-old East China Normal University student at the time of victory in Athens, became the target of a bidding war among commercial sponsors.

On July 11, 2006, Liu set a new world record in the 110 metre hurdles at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne with a time of 12.88 seconds (+1.1 m/s tailwind).

Leading up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Liu bore national expectations of a repeat victory on home soil.

He walked off the track after a false start by another runner in his first-round heat,[20] leaving the crowd at the Beijing National Stadium in stunned silence,[21] confusion,[22] and tears.

[23] According to China's track and field association, Liu suffered from a recurrence of chronic inflammation in his right Achilles tendon.

[18] Liu's coach, Sun Haiping addressed the media during a press conference and stated that the hurdler had been hampered by a tendon injury for six or seven years.

Liu made a public apology to the Chinese media the following day, saying he could "do nothing but pull out of the race" because of his foot injury.

[28][29] At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, admitting that his right foot has yet to fully recover,[30] Liu was able to finish in the finals of the 60 m hurdles, but managed only seventh place.

[31] His sole appearance on the 2010 IAAF Diamond League circuit came at the Shanghai Grand Prix and he lost to national rival Shi Dongpeng for the first time.

A crowd of 70,000 gathered at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium to see him in the final and he easily won his third consecutive title at the competition, breaking the Games record with a run of 13.09 seconds – making him the third fastest athlete that season.

[33] The Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in May 2011 saw Liu make a return to a world class level: he defeated David Oliver (the fastest hurdler in 2010) with a world-leading mark of 13.07 seconds to take his first win on the 2011 IAAF Diamond League.

[34] On August 29, 2011, Liu Xiang competed in the men's 110-metre hurdles final in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

[36] He was the favourite for the title at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but was beaten into second place by Aries Merritt and left with the silver medal.

[39] He followed this with a run of 12.87 seconds to win at the Prefontaine Classic, matching the world record time albeit with wind-assistance of 2.4 m/s.

Liu hopped the full 110 metre stretch, was helped by a few of his fellow competitors, and was put into a wheel chair and led away.