Ning Li graduated from Hefei No.4 Middle School. In 1987, he entered the acting department of Shanghai Theatre Academy. After graduation, he was assigned to Shanghai People's Art Theatre. In 1996, he entered the film production program at the University of Minnesota in the U.S. After returning home after three years of study, he worked as an actor and director. In 2017, he acted in the youth drama "My Huckleberry Friends", in which he played the role of teacher Wu Wen Lu. In the same year, he acted in the crime suspense web drama "Burning Ice". In 2019, he appeared in "The Dragnet". In July, he appeared in the suspense drama "The Long Night" as Zhang Chao. In 2020, he appeared in the family suspense drama "The Bad Kids". On June 21st, he starred in the youth inspirational drama "Symphony's Romance" as a Chinese-American conductor, Fisher.