The teams that played against each other under the South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 were mainly coming from the Southern region of India. There were a number of 5 teams in the South Zone and all of them were the regular participants in the tournament. The teams included the likes of Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala, Hyderabad and Karnataka and all of them vied for getting a place in the knock out level of the tournament. However, only the teams like Karnataka and Hyderabad became the representatives of the South Zone in the knock out level of the tournament.

The first of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 was played between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Andhra at Coimbatore from 17-19 September, 1976. The closely contested match saw the Tamil Nadu team winning by a narrow margin of only 3 wickets and also earning 8 points from it. The teams of Kerala and Tamil Nadu clashed with each other in the second match of the South Zone and the match was held at Cannanore from 25-26 September, 1976. The Tamil Nadu team played very well in this match also and earned 8 points from it, by clinching a victory of an innings and 62 runs. The third match of the zone was held at Eluru from 16-18 October between the teams of Andhra and Hyderabad. The match was drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Andhra and Hyderabad teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.

There was a clash between the teams of Karnataka and Andhra in the fourth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 and the match took place at Hubi from 23-25 October, 1976. The Karnataka team earned 6 valuable points from the drawn match. The Hyderabad and Kerala teams then met with each other in the next match of the zone and they played the match at Warangal from 23-25 October, 1976. The winner of the match was the Hyderabad team with a margin of an innings and 55 runs and the team earned the entire 9 points from the match, as well. The next match of the zone involved the teams like Andhra and Kerala. The match that was held at Guntur from 29-31 October, 1976 was drawn during the specified period of time and the Andhra and Kerala teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the match.

The seventh of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 was played between the teams of Karnataka and Hyderabad at Bangalore from 04-06 December, 1976. The drawn match saw the Karnataka and Hyderabad teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The Hyderabad team appeared in the next match of the South Zone also and this time, it played against the Tamil Nadu team at Hyderabad from 11-13 December, 1976. The match remained drawn during its stipulated period of time and the match officials awarded the Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu teams 6 and 3 points, respectively for the match. The teams of Kerala and Karnataka took part in the next match of the zone that was held at Calicut from 12-14 December, 1976. The Karnataka team won the match by a huge margin of 212 runs for earning 8 valuable points from it. The last of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1976-77 saw a clash between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at Madras from 25-27 December, 1976. The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the match, as it remained drawn during the specified period of time.