He has qualified for two Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Xiao Qin was one of the favorites for the Olympic title on pommel horse, but his dreams were shattered when he fell during the qualification round. He qualified for the horizontal bar event final but placed 6th. It was also a disappointing Olympics for his team favored to win gold but instead finished 5th. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he redeemed himself by winning gold on the pommel horse along with gold for his team.