Its southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 63 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Slovak.

[7] On April 24, 1963, both segments were extended westward, with the Prairie County section adding 7 miles (11 km) west of Slovak, and the Monroe County section extended northwest from Holly Grove to Highway 241[e] north of Clarendon.

[9] On June 23, 1965, the Prairie County section was extended north to the current western terminus at Screeton,[10] and the third section of Highway 86 was designated between Hayley and a county road near Wattensaw Bayou.

[11] The northern 0.7 miles (1.1 km) of the Monroe County route was deleted in a swap to add length to Highway 146 on April 27, 1971, leaving the route to terminate at the current county road intersection.

[13] An earlier Highway 86 was created in the 1926 renumbering from US 71 just south of Gillham southwest to the Oklahoma state line.