It is a farm club for the Russian Premier League team FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.

FC Smena-Zenit was dissolved after the 2009 season because it did not fulfill Zenit's initial expectations.

When FC Torpedo Armavir (which qualified for promotion from the Zone South) refused to be promoted to FNL for financial reasons, the league offered the second-placed teams in the PFL an FNL spot.

Zenit-2 finished the 2017–18 season in the relegation zone, but was saved from going down due to several teams above them failing licensing.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.