The incumbent Liberal Union government led by Premier of South Australia Archibald Peake defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Andrew Kirkpatrick.

Selina Siggins (Adelaide) and Jeanne Young (Sturt) both ran unsuccessfully as independents.

[1] The Crawford Vaughan Labor government fell in July 1917 due to the Australian Labor Party split of 1916 on conscription, and was replaced by a Peake Liberal minority government.

This was replaced by the Peake Liberal-National Labor coalition government in August 1917.

The first new parties emerged since the two-party system was introduced from the 1910 state election − the Farmers and Settlers Association (F&S), Single Tax (ST) and the Farmers and Producers Country Party (FPCP).