Traditionally, they have inhabited the middle and western side of Volga, including the nowadays Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ryazan, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions of Russia.

Different versions about their origin exist to this day, but most researchers connect their ancestors to the population of Golden Horde.

Meshchera, or Mescherski Yurt (Мещерский юрт, Tatar: Mişär yortı[6]) is a name used by the Russians for certain areas where the ancestors of the Mishars lived.

The Tatar Turkologist of the early 19th century, Akhmarov, believed that the name "Mishar" has a geographical character and originates from the historical region of Meshchera.

[19] Yevfimi Aleksandrovich Malov, a missionary who was active in Kazan, compared the two groups in question in his 1885 writing as follows: "The Mishar Tatars have bushier beards, they don't show off their clothes.

[20] A mullah named Ahsän, from the village of Yendovich interviewed by Malov, said that they came from Kasimov and differed from the Kazan Tatars in terms of language and customs.

[22] The formation of the group took place in the forest-steppe zone on the west side of the Sura river, along the tributaries of the Oka.

Individual nomadic groups began to move to this area inhabited by the Finnic peoples at the beginning of the 11th century.

During the Golden Horde, Kipchaks moved to the region and founded e.g. Temnikov, Narovchat, Shatsky and Kadom fortresses.

After the Golden Horde weakened, they became subjects of Russia, who farmed the land and paid the yasak tax or performed military service.

[23] The ethnic character of the Mishars was mostly finally formed during 1400–1500 in Qasim Khanate, though principality of Temnikov is also named as an important factor.

G. Akhmarov says that Mishars arrived in Novgorod in early 1600s, though some of them might have already been on the territory before; Tatars who called themselves the Meshcheryaks had settled to the deserts in the eastern part of the region already before the Invasion of Kazan (1552).

[26] Generally, however, the same ancient tribes are brought up; Burtas, Bulgars, Khazars, Kipchaks / Cumans and Ugrian Magyars.

Orlov also states, that not all ancestors of Nizhny Novorod Mishars are from Meshchera, rather, some can be traced back to Volga Bulgaria, and others to Siberia.

Kuzeyev says that the Mishars by their origin "go back to one of the ancient Ugric tribes of the Magyar union", and this ethnonym itself "has a Ugric-Magyar basis".

UCLA Center for Near East Studies states that Mishars most likely descent from the Kipchaks of Golden Horde, that settled on the West side of the Volga.

[40] Khayretdinov: "The Meshchersky yurt was considered an integral part of the Golden Horde, and not only in its capital Sarai, but also in Crimea and elsewhere".

According to Orlov, the Mishars resemble the Karaites and the Balkars because of their language, traditional food, and the naming of the days of the week.

A. Samoylovich writes; "The individual name system of the days of the week is observed in a wide area, from the Meshcheryaks of the Sergach region of Nizhny Novgorod province to the Turks of Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula.

"[48][49][21][29] Even though the Mishars present many different ethnic traits, they are (like Balkars) said to be one of the "purest representatives" of ancient Kipchaks today.

"[48][29] A. Leitzinger thinks Mishars have more Kipchak in their dialect, where as Bolgar influence possibly is found better among the Kazan Tatars.

The admixture event is suggested to have taken place in the Southern Ural region at 643–431 BCE, which is "in agreement with contemporary historical accounts which denominated the Conquerors as Turks".

The Ural type, most characteristic of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga-Kama region, is represented among the Mishars less than all other groups of the Tatar nation: 8-10%.

[7] Khayretdinov also brings up the possible Iranian-Burtas theory when discussing the dark appearance of Mishar Tatars.

N.D. Rusinov suggested that some hydronyms in the southern and southeastern parts of the Nizhny Novgorod region may be of Iranian origin.

In 1798-1865, they formed the "Bashkir-Meshcheryaki Army" (Башкиро-мещерякское войско), which was an irregural formation, but took part for example in the French Invasion of Russia.