Yin Li was from Yunyang Commandery (), which is in present-day
Danyang, Jiangsu. He came from a humble family background. He was physically weak and not active, but was known for being highly perceptive. He was also well versed in divination. He was a friend of
Gu Shao. He served as a minor officer in Yunyang Commandery when he was young. When he was 18, he became an Assistant () in the county office of
Wu County (present-day
Suzhou, Jiangsu). When
Sun Quan was ruling the territories in
Jiangdong as the King of
Wu from 222–229, he recruited Yin Li to serve as a
langzhong (). In the summer of 224, Yin Li accompanied
Zhang Wen on a diplomatic mission to Wu's ally state,
Shu Han, where they met the Shu
chancellor-regent
Zhuge Liang, who was very impressed with Yin Li. After returning from Shu, Yin Li was supposed to assume the appointment of
langzhong, but Zhang Wen arranged for him to work in the Imperial Secretariat instead. Yin Li became the Administrator () of Lingling Commandery (零陵郡; around present-day
Yongzhou,
Hunan) later in his career. He died in office. ==Family==