Born in Guizhou, Cao was graduated in 1982 from the Wall Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Now he is an associate professor of the Wall Painting Department of the Academy. He held "The works of Cao Li" at Ia Facultad de Bellas Artes de Madrid in Spain in 1992, participated in "The Open Door - China Oil Paintings exhibition" in 1997, 10th National Art Exhibition held by National Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing, 2005, and in the "Imagery of Mt. Wuyi: the Debut Interactive Creation of Chinese vis-à-vis German Artists on International Tours" in 2006.