Li was born on 10 October 1933 in Beijing, Republic of China, with her ancestral home in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.[1] She graduated from the Metallurgy Department of Beijing Steel and Iron Institute (now University of Science and Technology Beijing) in 1957.[2] After graduation she worked as a researcher at the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and later served as its president from 1990 to 1998.[1][3]
In the 1970s, Li developed high-strength stainless steel for use at ultra-low temperature.[2] She later developed more than ten different metal alloys including Fe-Ni-Cr, Fe-Mn-Al, Ti-Al, and Ti-Ni. The materials she developed have been used in the water turbines of the Three Gorges Dam, the CRH3 and CRH5 high-speed rail, and nuclear reactors.[4]
Li was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993 and a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences in 1999.[1] She was awarded the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize in Technological Sciences.[2] For her contributions to the development of new materials, she was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Metallurgy by the China Metal Society in October 2016.[4]