The South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1970-71 saw the inclusion of the Tamil Nadu in it and the teams that played in the zone included the likes of Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra and Mysore. All the teams were representing various states of South India and they played against each other in the zonal level first. The main aim of the teams was to become one of the top two teams in the zone and to get a chance to compete in the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Mysore and Hyderabad eventually became successful to do so from the South Zone.

The South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1970-71 started with the match between the teams of Hyderabad and Kerala at Nizamabad from 29-30 November, 1970. The match was won by the Hyderabad with a margin of an innings and 10 runs and the team earned 9 points from the match, as well. The second match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Andhra and Kerala and the match was held at Vishakhapatnam from 04-06 November, 1970. Then match was drawn during the stipulated duration and it saw the Andhra team earning 5 points and Kerala earning 3 points from it. The Andhra team appeared in the next match also and this time, it played against the Hyderabad team at Vijayawada from 08-10 November, 1970. The Hyderabad team once again played very well in the match and clinched a victory of an innings and 9 runs for earning 9 points from it.

The fourth match of the South Zone involved the teams like Mysore and Andhra and the match took place at Belgaum from 13-14 November, 1970. The winner of the match was the Mysore team with a margin of an innings and 10 runs and the team earned 9 points from the match, as well. The teams of Tamil Nadu and Kerala then played against each other in the fifth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1970-71 that took place at Tellicherry from 14-15 November, 1970. The Tamil Nadu team played nicely in the match and won it by a margin of an innings and 130 runs also earned 8 valuable points from it. In the sixth match of the zone, the teams of Tamil Nadu and Andhra clashed with each other at Madras from 21-23 November, 1970. The match officials declared the match as a drawn one and awarded the Tamil Nadu and Andhra teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.

The teams of Kerala and Mysore clashed with each other in the seventh of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1970-71 and the match was held at Trivandrum from 28-29 November, 1970. The Mysore team showed a very good performance in the match and clinched a victory of an innings and 72 runs to earn 8 valuable points from it. The next match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu at Hyderabad from 28-30 November, 1970. The Hyderabad team beat the Tamil Nadu team by a margin of an innings and 106 runs and also earned 8 points from the match. Then the Hyderabad team played against the Mysore team at Bangalore from 05-07 December, 1970 and the match saw the Hyderabad team winning by 8 wickets and also earning 8 points from it. The last of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1970-71 involved the teams of Tamil Nadu and Mysore and the teams clashed with each other at Madras from 12-15 December, 1970. The match was won by the Mysore team with a margin of 64 runs and the team earned 8 points from the match, as well.