"The Soyuz FG rocket and the Soyuz-TMA capsule launched successfully from Baikonur cosmodrome at 8:14 a.m. Moscow time (0414 UTC)," the Russian space agency announced in a statement on Thursday.
Before liftoff, NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio of the US climbed into the capsule carrying the torch, along with crew members Mikhail Tyurin of Russia and Koichi Wakata of Japan.
The torch, unlit for safety reasons, will arrive along with the astronauts after a six-hour flight to the station, which is positioned 450 kilometers (270 miles) above Earth.
A colorful snowflake design and 2014 Sochi Winter games logo decorated the outside of the shuttle.
Two Russian cosmonauts who are already on board the ISS are scheduled to take the torch for a space walk on Saturday - the first time an Olympic torch will be carried into open space.
Torches were aboard US space shuttle voyages before the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio earlier climbed the steps into the capsule carrying the Olympic torch, along with his fellow spacemen, Russia's Mikhail Tyurin and Japan's Koichi Wakata.
In an unprecedented move, two of the Russian cosmonauts who are already on board the ISS are set to take the torch on a space walk from 1430 GMT on Saturday aimed at promoting the Sochi Games.
Russian officials have made it clear that the torch will remain unlit at all times for safety reasons.
"Taking the Olympic torch to space -- only we are capable of that," boasted a presenter on state-owned Rossiya-2 television.
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