Fabricated through a newly developed hot-warm rolling process, Zn-0.8Li (wt%) alloy has ideal strength and ductility far beyond the mechanical benchmark of materials for biodegradable stents. Precipitation of needle-like Zn in primary β-LiZn₄ phase is observed in Zn-Li alloy for the first time. Orientation relationship between them can be described as [1-213]β//[2-1-10]Zn, (10-10)β about 4.5^◦ from (0002)Zn. Zn grains with an average size of 640 nm exhibit strong basal texture, detected by transmission electron back-scatter diffraction. Li distribution is determined by three-dimensional atom probe, which reveals the formation of nano-sized metastable β-Li₂Zn₃ precipitates with a number density of 7.16 × 10²²m⁻³. The fine lamellar Zn + β-LiZn₄ structure, sub-micron grains and the nano-sized precipitates contribute to the superior mechanical properties.