He was the son of Shingen by the daughter of Suwa Yorishige (posthumous name:Suwa-goryōnin (諏訪御料人, real name, Koihime)).

In 1575, he suffered a terrible loss at the Battle of Nagashino, defeated by one of the earliest recorded uses of volley fire (by Oda Nobunaga's 3,000 muskets), and losing a large part of his forces as well as a number of Takeda's generals and retainer.

In 1581, Katsuyori lost Takatenjin fortress by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the siege ended with the deaths of 680 men of Okabe Motonobu garrison.

[8] After Katsuyori lost Takatenjin fortress and Takatō castle, many clans like Kiso and Anayama withdrew their support for Takeda.

Later, his forces were destroyed by the combined armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Tenmokuzan, after which Katsuyori, his wife, and his son committed ritual suicide, known as seppuku.