It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol.

Gun popularity rose after firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd, of the UK, informed author Ian Fleming, his countryman, that James Bond's sidearm should be a Walther PPK chambered in .32 ACP.

It was John Pedersen with the Remington Model 51 that delivered a true locked breech for the .32 ACP cartridge.

The low power and light bullet of the cartridge allowed Browning to incorporate a practical blowback mechanism in a small pocket-size pistol.

Their light weight, very low recoil and very good accuracy relative to larger caliber pistols make them suitable for concealed carry use.

It offers more velocity and energy than the .32 S&W, which was a popular round for pocket defensive revolvers at the time of the .32 ACP's development.

Even though the .32 ACP is capable of killing small game, most handguns chambered for this round utilize fixed sights and are designed for use against human-sized targets at fairly close range, which greatly limits their utility as hunting handguns.

In Europe, where the round is commonly known as the 7.65mm Browning and features a different rimsizing, .32 ACP has always been more widely accepted than it has in America, having a long history of use by civilians, law enforcement personnel, and security forces, along with limited issue by military forces.

The cartridge has an increased popularity in the United States due to modern compact concealed carry pistols chambered for it, such as the Kel-Tec P-32, Beretta Tomcat, Seecamp LWS 32 and North American Arms Guardian .32.