Li Leilei started his career with second tier club
Bayi Football Team in the 1999 Chinese league season and would go on to become their first choice goalkeeper. With them he would gain promotion at the end of 2000, however after three seasons in the top tier the club were relegated at the end of the 2003 league season and disbanded due to financial difficulties brought about by professional football. This saw Li Leilei join another top tier club in
Shenzhen Jianlibao where he was immediately made the club's first choice goalkeeper by the team's Head coach
Zhu Guanghu and had an extremely successful debut season with them by winning the 2004
Chinese Super League. The following season wasn't to prove as successful for Li Leilei, however he still drew the interests from
Shandong Luneng who he transferred to for 5 million yuan at the beginning of the 2006 league season. At Shandong he was the first choice goalkeeper of the league and cup 2006 double winning campaign. By now Li Leilei had also established himself as
China's main goalkeeper and by the 2008 league season he would continue his pivotal role for the club by again winning the Chinese Super League title. By the end of the 2009 league season the Shandong Head coach
Ljubiša Tumbaković had left the club after a disappointing season and was replaced by
Branko Ivanković who decided to promote the youngster
Yang Cheng as first choice goalkeeper, which saw Li Leilei limited to a single appearance throughout the 2010 campaigned as he watched Shandong win another league title. At the end of the 2011 league season he did not make a single appearance for Shandong and with his contract having finished Li Leilei retired from football. ==International career==