From July 1937, with the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the 10th Division returned to China under the command of Lieutenant General Rensuke Isogai. It was in combat during the Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation, Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation and Battle of Xuzhou, where it suffered a serious reverse in the Battle of Taierzhuang. It was also in the northern pincer of the Japanese offensive in the Battle of Wuhan. It was withdrawn back to Japan in October 1939 and reorganized at that time into a triangular division, with its IJA 40th Infantry Regiment (Tottori) transferred to the newly formed IJA 25th Division. In August 1940, the reorganized division was sent to Jiamusi, northern Manchukuo under the command of Lieutenant General Tōichi Sasaki, and placed under the control of the Kwantung Army. For the next few years, it served as a border garrison force and supporting anti-partisan police actions.