Tong Lei started his professional football career in 2016 when he was promoted to Hangzhou Greentown's first squad.

[1] On 15 May 2016, he made his debut for Hangzhou in the 2016 Chinese Super League against Liaoning Whowin, coming on as a substitute for Cheng Mouyi in the 74th minute.

[2] Despite the club facing relegation at the end of the season, Tong was given the opportunity to gain more playing time and he would gradually start to establish himself as a regular with the squad and was part of the team that narrowly missed out on promotion at the end of the 2019 China League One season.

[3] On 7 February 2020 Tong joined top tier club Dalian Pro along with Wu Wei and Xue Qinghao on the same day.

[5] On 11 April 2023, Tong joined fellow Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan.