Ma was born in Linxia, Gansu. He was named the military governor of Xining and then of Altay, in Qing times. He held a large number of military posts in the northwestern region after the founding of the republic. He was governor of Qinghai in 1912, Ningxia from 1912 to 1920, and Suiyuan from 1920 to 1925. Having turned to Chiang Kai-shek in 1928, he was made chairman (governor) of the government of Anhui in 1930. He was elected a member of the National Government Commission and then appointed the mayor of Qingdao, special municipality. He was also the president of the Mongolian–Tibetan Commission and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. He died in August 1932.