The institute was awarded full university status in 1992 in the immediate aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Osh State University traces its origins back to 1939 with the founding of higher education teacher training institute in the city.

The institute was established to address the shortage of teachers in schools in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Future teachers received 2 years of training which included courses in history and philology, physics, mathematics and natural sciences and geography.

[2] The new institute was reorganized into faculties of philology, physics and mathematics and foreign languages.