Li was born in Beijing on 17 August 1925. He graduated from the Department of Chemistry of Peking University in 1947, and became a lecturer of biochemistry at PKU.^[1] In 1956, he was admitted as a graduate student to the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, where he studied under the academician Cao Tianqin.^[2] After graduation in 1960, he founded China's first laboratory for molecular DNA and genetics research at the Shanghai institute. He became a full professor in 1977.^[2]

Li's group was the first to sequence the full genomic DNA of pADR-1, the most prevalent subtype of hepatitis B virus in China. It was the first time a virus genome was sequenced in China.^[1] The research resulted in the development of a highly effective recombinant hepatitis B vaccine.^[1] In another project, he utilized a secretive gene expression system in Escherichia coli to produce human EGF and human GM-CSF, both of which have been approved for medical use. He also identified a new gene called liver-related putative tumor suppressor (LPTS) in chromosome 8p23.^[1]

He published more than 200 research papers and won more than 10 national and international prizes^[2] including the first-class National Prize of Progress in Science and Technology (three times)^[2] and the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for Life Sciences.^[1] He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1996.^[2]

Li died at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai on 30 May 2018, aged 92.^[2]