This laboratory was established in 1961 under the chemical science group of CSIR and originally its main aim was to develop indigenous technologies by utilizing the immense natural resources of northeastern India like Petroleum, Coal, Natural Gas, Minerals, Tea, Microbes, Aromatic and Medicinal plants.

Presently, NEIST is a full-fledged multidisciplinary research institution having research areas like Advanced Computation and Data Science, Medicinal Chemistry, Natural Products Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Biotechnology, Infectious disease, Communicable and Non-communicable disease, Medicinal, Aromatic and Economic plants, Geoscience, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Applied Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, General Engineering, Cellulose, Membrane technologies, Pulp and Paper, Material Science, Coal, etc.

[2] The training program for Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020, an initiative of MHRD's Innovation Cell, was conducted by the institute.

[3] A COVID-19 research laboratory has also been set up in the institute premises to facilitate COVID-19 testing facility in the entire region.

[4] Under the CSIR-AROMA mission, the institute has planned to set up "Multilocational Trial & Regional Research Experimental Farm" across the North East.