[1] He was the first of nine children of the famous general Ye Ting and his wife Li Xiuwen, who both died in a plane crash in 1946.

[2] In 1947, Ye attended a Russian-language school in northeastern China founded by the Northeast Democratic United Army.

He graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute in 1955, where he majored in aircraft production.

[3] He later served as deputy dean of the Six Research Institute of the PRC Ministry of National Defense, deputy director of Defense Industry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, deputy director of the Science and Technology Committee of the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and director of the 2nd and 3rd Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

[2] Ye Zhengda married Ren Yue (Chinese: 任岳), an actress of the August First Film Studio, in Moscow.