The South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 saw the participation of all the regular 5 teams that had been participating in the tournament for the previous few editions. The teams included the likes of Karnataka, Kerala, Hyderabad, Andhra, and Tamil Nadu and they first played against each other in the zonal level for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone. The top two teams of the zone then proceeded towards the knock out level of the tournament for competing with the top teams of the other zones for the championship title. The teams like Karnataka and Hyderabad were the toppers in the South Zone and they played in the knock out level, as well.

The match between the teams of Karnataka and Kerala was the first of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 and the match was organised at Chickmagalur from 05-07 November, 1977. Playing wonderfully in the match, the Karnataka team clinched a victory of an innings and 186 runs and also earned 8 points from it. The Hyderabad and Andhra teams appeared in the second match of the zone at Hyderabad from 12-14 November, 1977. The Hyderabad team won the match with a margin of 10 wickets and also earned 8 valuable points from it. The Andhra team then played against the Tamil Nadu team in the third match of the zone and the match took place at Vishakhapatnam from 19-21 November, 1977. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Tamil Nadu and Andhra teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.

The clash between the teams of Hyderabad and Karnataka took place in the fourth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 and the match was held at Hyderabad from 26-28 November, 1977. The drawn match saw the Hyderabad team earning 5 points and Karnataka earning 3 points from it. The next match of the zone involved the teams like Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the two teams clashed with each other at Madras from 11-13 December, 1977. The winner of the match was the Tamil Nadu team with a margin of an innings and 42 runs and the team earned the entire 9 points from the match, as well. The Tamil Nadu team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Karnataka team at Bangalore from 17-19 December, 1977. The Karnataka team played extremely well in the match and earned 8 points from it, by clinching a huge victory of 200 runs.

The teams of Kerala and Hyderabad then clashed with each other in the seventh of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78. The match that was held at Quilon form 18-20 December, 1977, saw the Hyderabad team winning by a huge margin of an innings and 132 runs. The Hyderabad team earned the full 9 points from the match, as well. The Andhra and Kerala teams met with each other in the next match of the zone at Trivandrum from 23-25 December, 1977. The drawn match saw the Andhra and Kerala teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The clash between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad took place in the next match at Madras from 24-26 December, 1977 and it remained drawn during the specified period of time. The match officials awarded the Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match. The last of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 saw a clash between the teams of Karnataka and Andhra at Bangalore from 31 December, 1977 - 02 January, 1978. The Karnataka team became the winner of the match with a huge margin of 10 wickets and also earned 8 valuable points from the match.