Formed as an NKVD unit in mid-1941, the division saw its first combat on the Northwestern Front at Staraya Russa and in the Valdai Hills.

After the Battle of Smolensk, the division advanced west into eastern Belarus, and fought near Vitebsk in late 1943.

In April, it was withdrawn from the front and relocated to Mongolia in May and June to fight in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, which began in early August.

Without completing its formation, on the night of 19–20 July the division was moved to the Mozhaysk area as part of the Reserve Front's 33rd Army.

In the second half of October, it moved east to the Kalinin Front's 31st Army, which was preparing for the Soviet winter counteroffensive in the Battle of Moscow.

In October and November, the 262nd fought in the advance on Vitebsk during the Belorussian Strategic Offensive as part of the army's 1st Rifle Corps.

[9] In the initial attack, preceded by a 1-hour artillery barrage at 06:00, the tank-supported 262nd broke through the lines of the demoralized German 197th Infantry Division.

[11] On 24 June, after the German LIII Army Corps, holding Vitebsk, withdrew to reduce its frontage, the 84th Rifle Corps was concentrated in a narrow sector southwest of the city and the 158th and 262nd Rifle Divisions advanced north against the German 206th Infantry Division.

[12] The 262nd advanced six kilometers to the north that day while the 158th mounted a holding attack to the east to pin the German forces in place.

[14] On the next day, the division participated in the final assault on the city, attacking from the east alongside the 158th following a massive artillery barrage.

The campaign consisted mainly of fast marches across the Mongolian deserts and the Greater Khingan mountains in temperatures nearing 100 °F (38 °C) with little water.

[7] The division was disbanded in August and September 1946, part of the 39th Army's 113th Rifle Corps, garrisoning Port Arthur.