There were a number of 4 teams participated under the East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 and all the regular teams were representing the Eastern region of India. The teams were made from different Eastern Indian states and they included the likes of Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The regular participants of the tournament played against each other first in the zonal level and then, the best two teams of the zone got a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Bengal and Bihar once again became the toppers in the East Zone and they competed against the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level for the championship title.

The match between the teams of Bihar and Orissa was the first of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 and the match was organised at Patna from 27-29 November 1976. The finalist of the previous edition of the tournament, the Bihar team played wonderfully in the match and defeated the Orissa team by a huge margin of an innings and 226 runs. The Bihar team also earned the entire 9 points from the match. The second match of the zone was held between the teams of Assam and Orissa at Cuttack from 03-05 December, 1976. The match officials awarded both the Assam and Orissa teams 3 points each, as the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration.

The Bengal team played its first match in the zonal level against the Orissa team at Calcutta from 09-11 December 1976. It was the third of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 and the Bengal team won the match convincingly with a margin of an innings and 195 runs. The Bengal team earned the full 9 points from the match, as well. The teams of Assam and Bihar then clashed with each other in the fourth match of the zone and the match took place at Guwahati from 11-13 December 1976. The Bihar team played well in this match also and clinched a victory of an innings and 66 runs for earning 8 points from it.

The fifth of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 was played between the teams of Assam and Bengal at Guwahati from 16-18 December, 1976. The Bengal team dominated the Assam team throughout the match and eventually won it by a huge margin of an innings and 147 runs. The Bengal team also earned 8 valuable points from the match. The last match of the East Zone involved the two most powerful teams in the zone, Bengal and Bihar and the two teams clashed with each other at Calcutta from 21-23 January, 1977. The match drawn match saw the Bihar team earning 5 points and Bengal earning 3 points from it.