At the age of thirteen, Ma Hailong took six months out of school in order to travel the 1000 miles from his home to train at the CBSA World Snooker Academy in Beijing.

[2] In February 2023 Ma Hailong defeated Stan Moody in the final of the WSF Championship in Sydney, Australia where the win secured him the offer of a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour.

He went unbeaten in his round-robin stage, earning draws against Mink Nutcharut, John Astley and Gary Wilson.

[13] In November 2023, he was on the receiving end of a maximum 147 break at the 2023 UK Championship in a 6–1 defeat by compatriot Xu Si.

[16] In June 2024, he made a successful start to the 2024-25 snooker season at the 2024 Championship League in Leicester, topping his round-Robin group that contained former world champion John Higgins.