The highway parallels the North Carolina-South Carolina border as it connects Fair Bluff, Tabor City, Sunset Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach.

NC 904 is a 67.5-mile (108.6 km) east–west highway (physically running northwest–southeast) that travels from NC 130 in Five Forks, to East First Street in Ocean Isle Beach.

By 1958, NC 904 was extended onto new primary routing east to Seaside; by 1963, it was extended again to its current eastern terminus in Ocean Isle Beach.

North Carolina Highway 761 (NC 761) was established 1935 as new primary routing from US 76 in Fair Bluff, to US 701 in Tabor City.

In 1937, it was renumbered as NC 904 when the highway was extended into South Carolina to sync with SC 904.