He previously served under his uncle Ma Teng, a warlord in northwestern China, during the late Eastern Han dynasty.

Ma Dai caught up with Wei Yan while the latter was fleeing towards Hanzhong, decapitated him, brought his head back, and threw it in front of Yang Yi.

[3] Ma Dai is also briefly mentioned in Sima Yi's biography in the Book of Jin.

[5] Ma Dai participates actively in southern campaign against the Nanman and the Northern Expeditions against the rival state of Cao Wei.

After Zhuge Liang's death, the Shu general Wei Yan rebels, and Ma Dai pretends to support him but kills him later.

Ma Dai is first introduced as a playable character in the seventh instalment of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.

He, along with the rest of the Xiliang warriors of the time, appear alongside a unique cavalry unit in any level they are present, a reference to the Ma clan's namesake horsemanship.