"Now I feel like you guys can finally call me Aussie Kim because I won the title," she joked, holding the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy aloft.
It is the fourth Grand Slam title for the Belgian, and the first one outside of the U.S.
The victory was a touching moment for Clijsters, as a return to Melbourne Park next year in front of such a supportive crowd is no certain thing.
"I've come to Melbourne for years," acknowledging the crowd support in her victory speech. "Even when things werent going so good, you supported me."
Clijsters was pushed by Na for the victory, and was quick to thank her for a tense contest.
"Congrats to Li Na... I've Played so many matches with her. She's such a tough competitor."
Na, the first Asian player to make a Grand Slam singles final, had her thoughts, once again, on the support of her husband, with a familiar comical touch.
"Whether you're fat or thin... or ugly... I'll always follow you and always love you," she said, once again to the laughs of the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
The defeated ninth seed finished with a smile, and simple final words: "I tried my best, and I'll see you next year."
Things looked dire early for Na, when Clijsters won the first 8 points of the match to race to a two-love lead.
But Na broke back, and leveled at two all. From there, the underdog in Na continued fighting back to keep Clijsters pegged behind the baseline.
When Na whipped a cross court forehand beside Clijsters to win the opening set, the Melbourne crowd started to believe that the Chinese underdog would pull a repeat of the result seen in the Sydney International final just weeks earlier.
Nothing, however, was certain when the high energy tennis from the first set suddenly turned into a mix of serving errors and inconsistent tennis from both women. The result was four straight breaks of serve.
But the Belgian found her feet and started placing her shots deeper into the court as the set progressed. Clijsters turned the match in her favour, winning three straight games at 3 all to run away with the second set.
The three time U.S. Open champion never looked back, as Li Na strung together more nervous errors under the pressure of an increasingly powerful Clijsters game.
Na put a return into the net to give Clijsters a memorable win, becoming the first mother since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1977 to win the Australian Slam, and giving the home crowd a win for their 'Aussie' Kim.
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