The May Fourth Movement of 1919 had left an impression on young Mao. When he began to reclaim his diminished power in the 1960s, he knew that the young people of China were the best way to gain a loyal, fervent base. The fact that the youth of China were more malleable than established leaders was likely another draw for the aging Mao. To get the youth engaged behind backing him, Mao helped to found the Red Guards in 1966 until their abolishment in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.. The purpose of this new organization was to provide a place for young people to feel like they had a voice. However, it was also a way for Mao and his loyal followers to control the narrative and to influence the thought processes of future generations.

Despite being met with resistance early on, the Red Guards received personal support from Mao, and the movement rapidly grew. The movement in Beijing culminated during the "Red August" of 1966, which later spread to other areas in mainland China. Mao made use of the group as propaganda and to accomplish goals such as seizing power and destroying symbols of China's pre-communist past ("Four Olds"), including ancient artifacts and gravesites of notable Chinese figures. Moreover, the government was very permissive of the Red Guards, and even allowed the Red Guards to inflict bodily harm on people viewed as dissidents. The movement quickly grew out of control, frequently coming into conflict with authority and threatening public security until the government made efforts to rein the youths in, with even Mao himself finding the leftist students to have become too radical. The Red Guard groups also suffered from in-fighting as factions developed among them. By the end of 1968, the group as a formal movement had dissolved.

Mao used the Red Guards to ostracize and undermine both Liu Shoaqi and Deng Xiaoping.