NC 268 is an 86-mile (138 km) North Carolina state highway. It connects many communities as it traverses through the northwestern North Carolina mountains and foothills.

NC 268 begins in the west at an intersection with US 321 a few miles north of Lenoir in Caldwell County. From its western terminus, the route heads on a curvy northeasterly path roughly following the Yadkin River. Entering Wilkes County, it follows the southern shoreline of the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir and continues into the county seat of Wilkesboro. Before entering downtown Wilkesboro, the route has an interchange with US 421/NC 16 and meets NC 18. NC 268 joins NC 18 for a short concurrency through downtown North Wilkesboro, joining the business route of US 421 across a bridge over the Yadkin River into North Wilkesboro. NC 18 and NC 268 split from US 421 Business in central North Wilkesboro, pass by the western terminus of NC 115 and continue north one mile (1.6 km) before separating. NC 268 continues independently east roughly paralleling the Yadkin River through the town of Ronda on its way to the Surry County line.

Just shy of the Wilkes-Surry county line near Pleasant Hill, NC 268 splits onto a business route and a bypass route. NC 268 Bypass is an expressway that passes through northern Elkin while NC 268 Business goes through downtown/southern Elkin. The bypass route meets the business route of US 21 (North Bridge Street) and has an interchange with US 21 Bypass before meeting I-77 (exit 85) in northeast Elkin. NC 268 Bypass passes through the I-77 interchange, continuing east along C.C. Camp Road to rejoin its business partner just west of the junction of the Mitchell River and the Yadkin River at the Burch community.

The mainline NC 268 highway then ventures northeast from this point through the community of Little Richmond to meet US 601 at Fairview Crossroads, just south of Dobson. Passing through the crossroads, the route returns to an easterly path and crosses the Fisher River before passing through the communities of Level Cross and Pine Hill. NC 268 then crosses the Ararat River and passes to the north of Pilot Mountain to meet US 52 (Future I-74) in the town of Pilot Mountain. NC 268 passes through the town and crosses the county line into Stokes County. The final eastern segment of NC 268 is a curvy one through the Sauratown Mountains, crossing NC 66 to end at NC 89 north of Moores Springs and northwest of Danbury.