[1] Caxias was founded on 10 April 1935, as Grêmio Esportivo Flamengo (commonly referred at the time as Flamengo de Caxias, to not confuse with the more famous homonymous Rio de Janeiro club), which had been a fusion of two other teams (Ruy Barbosa and Rio Branco).

However, Juventude split off and reestablished itself in 1975, and Grêmio Esportivo Flamengo adopted the name Sociedade Esportiva e Recreativa Caxias do Sul.

They were the first club in Rio Grande do Sul from outside the state capital of Porto Alegre to participate in the national championship.

Under Tite's leadership, the club was able to qualify for the finals, reaching ahead of traditional Rio Grande do Sul powerhouse and frequent finalist Internacional, where they defeated a Grêmio with Ronaldinho 3–0 at Estádio Centenário.

In 2023, Caxias started the year being the runner-ups of the Campeonato Gaúcho, and were promoted back to Série C after defeating Portuguesa-RJ in the quarter-finals, but failed to win the championship after getting eliminated by Ferroviário in the semi-finals.