Lü Zhi died of illness in 180 BC an

Lü Zhi died of illness in 180 BC and was interred in Emperor Gaozu's tomb. Near the end of Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty (AD 9 – AD 23), Lü Zhi's body was desecrated by Chimei rebels when they raided Gaozu's tomb.[8] Emperor Guangwu, who restored the Han Dynasty in AD 25, posthumously replaced Lü Zhi as "Empress Gao" in Gaozu's temple with another of Gaozu's concubines, Consort Bo. Lü Zhi was enshrined in a separate temple instead.

In the aftermath of Lü Zhi's death, her clan members were overthrown from their positions of power and massacred, in an event historically known as the Lü Clan Disturbance. The masterminds of this coup d'état include ministers who previously served Emperor Gaozu, including Chen Ping, Zhou Bo (周勃) and Guan Ying (灌嬰). Liu Heng, a son of Gaozu and Consort Bo, was installed on the throne as Emperor Wen of Han.