The SU-76 was the first of a long series of Samokhodnaya Ustanovka Soviet self-propelled gun platforms that would be used for both infantry support as well as tank destroyers. The SU-76 was based on a widened version of the T-70 light tank's hull, with six rather than five road wheels. A 76.2mm ZiS-3 gun was mounted on a open topped superstructure on the rear of the hull but there was little in the way of armor protection in order to keep the vehicle's weight and mobility from deteriorating significantly. Initial models, however, had severe reliability issues due to the T-70's side-by-side dual engine configuration (each driving a single track); as a result the engines were placed in line driving a normal transmission. By the time the SU-76 entered service in 1943 it had been largely outclassed as a tank destroyer given the increase in armor protection in Germany's newest tanks. Despite these drawbacks and the fact that the SU-76 was not the most popular vehicle with crews due to its vulnerability to light weapons, it was an effective infantry support weapon and was produced in large enough numbers (second only to the T-34 as far as single Soviet armored vehicle designs) to be ubiquitous in most Soviet offensive from 1943 until the end of the war, even as more powerful gun platforms became available.

Orders for a self-propelled gun platform were received by Zavod No. 38 at Kirov in 1942, and were initially based on the T-60 chassis. This was known as the SU-12 but the designation then changed to SU-76 once the prototype was accepted into production in December 1942. A change in the engine layout resulted in the SU-76M although this was referred as the SU-76 once earlier vehicles were retired. Various experimental versions mounting different armament configurations were developed although some were used to mount a ZSU-37 anti-aircraft gun.