Chengdu Blades Peng Xinli was considered a technically gifted player as a youngster and was sent out to
Ligue 2 side
FC Metz by the Chengdu Football Association to study and practice abroad for two months. When he returned to China, he would join
Chengdu Blades and go on to make his senior debut in a league game against
Shandong Luneng on 28 June 2008 in a 2-1 defeat. Under then manager
Li Bing, he was viewed as a promising youngster and would often come on as a substitute throughout the 2008 league season until he was given his first start against
Shenzhen Xiangxue on 25 October 2008 in a 3-1 victory. For the next several seasons he was used sparingly until in
2011 Chinese Super League season he established himself as an integral member of the team scoring three goals in 27 appearances, however despite this it wasn't enough to keep Chengdu within the top tier.
Guangzhou Evergrande Peng transferred to
Guangzhou Evergrande on 26 December 2011 along with
Zhao Xuri,
Li Jianbin, and
Rong Hao. He would make his debut for the club on 18 July 2012 in a
Chinese FA Cup game against
Henan Jianye in a 2-1 victory. Within the league, Peng would not make his debut until the last game of the season against
Beijing Guoan on 3 November 2012 in a 1-0 defeat, despite the defeat Guangzhou Evergrande had already won the
2012 Chinese Super League. The following season Peng would continue to struggle to establish himself within the team, however he would scored his first and second goal for the club in the
2013 Chinese FA Cup in which Guangzhou beat
China League Two side
Dali Ruilong 7-1 on 10 July 2013 a day before he was loaned back to Chengdu.
Chongqing Lifan On 11 February 2015, Peng was loaned to fellow
Chinese Super League side
Chongqing Lifan until 31 December 2015. He would make his debut for the club on 8 March 2015 in a league game against
Beijing Sinobo Guoan that ended in a 3-0 defeat. On 19 February 2016, Chongqing extended his loan deal for another season. This was followed by his first goal for the club in a league game against
Hangzhou Greentown in a 1-1 draw. He made a permanent transfer to Chongqing Lifan in February 2017.
Shanghai Shenhua On 24 July 2019, Peng joined fellow Chinese Super League side
Shanghai Shenhua. On 27 July 2019, Peng made his debut for Shenhua in a 5-3 home win against
Guangzhou R&F. On 6 December 2019, Peng won the
2019 Chinese FA Cup with Shenhua in his debut season, after a 3-0 home win and aggregated score of 3-1 against
Shandong Luneng. On 19 August 2020, he scored his first goal for Shenhua in a 3-2 defeat against
Guangzhou R&F. On 18 November 2020, he made his
AFC Champions League debut and scored a goal in a 2-1 win against Australian side
Perth Glory in the
2020 AFC Champions League group stage.
Qingdao Hainiu(loan) On 7 July 2023, due to a lack of playing time at Shenhua, Peng joined fellow Chinese Super League club
Qingdao Hainiu on loan for the remainder of the season.
Shandong Taishan On 25 January 2024, Peng joined fellow Chinese Super League club
Shandong Taishan. On 13 February, he made his debut for Shandong in a 3-2 home defeat against Japanese club
Kawasaki Frontale in the first leg of
2023–24 AFC Champions League Round of 16. On 17 July 2025, Peng was loaned out to
Changchun Yatai.
Qingdao West Coast On 16 February 2026, Peng joined
Chinese Super League club
Qingdao West Coast. ==International career==