When flown for the first time on 18 July 1962, the Cessna Model 411 then represented the company's largest business aircraft. Generally similar in configuration to the Model 310, it differed by having slightly increased wing span and area, a lengthened fuselage, more powerful 254kW Continental GTSIO-520-C flat-six turbocharged engines and accommodation for a crew of two and four to six passengers. Production of the Model 411 was discontinued in June 1978, afterthe production of 400 examples, a small number of which were supplied to the French air force.

On 26 August 1965 Cessna flew the prototype of a generally similar aircraft which served for two new aircraft, the Model 401 and Model 402, and when FAA certification of the Model 401 prototype was awarded on 20 September 1966 it covered also the Model 402. These two aircraft represented lower-cost versions of the Model 411, differing primarily by having two 224kW Continental TSIO-520-E flat-six engines and some reduction in basic installed equipment. The Model 401 accommodated a crew of two and four to six passengers, but the Model 402 had a cabin layout which permitted a quick change from nine-seat commuter use to an all-cargo configuration.

Production of the Model 401 was phased out in mid-1972, with development then being concentrated on the Model 402 which, in December 1971, had been named Utiliner. At the same time a new version of the Model 402 was introduced as the Businessliner. Both versions, powered by 242kW TSIO-520-VB engines, were progressively improved and remained in production for some time, as the 10-seat Utiliner II small convertible passenger/ cargo airliner and the Businessliner II executive transport able to carry 2-6 passengers. The final version was the Businessliner III corporate transport fitted with more sophisticated avionics, including weather radar. A downturn in sales led to production ceasing in 1986 by which time a total of 1,540 Cessna 402 variants had been built, including 12 delivered to the Royal Malaysian Air Force in 1975.