[4] The area's name references its location within the historic county of Renfrewshire, which had been abolished for local government purposes in 1975 when Eastwood district and Strathclyde region had been created.

Following the development of the railways in the mid-nineteenth century, the parts of the area close to Glasgow became increasingly suburban in character.

[10] In 1941, Rudolf Hess, one of Adolf Hitler's top deputies within the Nazi Party, parachuted into Floors Farm, near the village of Waterfoot, on a secret mission to meet the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon for peace negotiations.

[13] In January 2008, East Renfrewshire became the first Scottish local authority to create a Facebook page to publicise its services.

Many of the district's settlements are classed as part of the Greater Glasgow urban area for statistical purposes.

[20] The local newspapers are the Barrhead News, covering the local authority with emphasis on the western half of the area, which primarily includes the town of Barrhead and the villages of Neilston and Uplawmoor, and the Glasgow South and Eastwood Extra, which is delivered free to homes and businesses, which has its emphasis on the eastern half of the local authority, but also covers news across the western half as well as the south of Glasgow.

[28][29] Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.