Among the names historically in use: Marsonia in the Roman Empire, Brood (in Slawonien)[4] in the German speaking Austrian period, Brod na Savi after 1934.

With the completion of this route, the area of the town Slavonski Brod will become one of the major highway intersections in this part of Europe connecting directions west–east and north–south.

The following settlements comprise the administrative area of Slavonski Brod:[3] A favorable geographical location, pleasant continental climate, fertile soil and being in the vicinity of the river Sava have all resulted with the city being inhabited since a prehistoric age.

The northeastern part of the city, at Galovo, recently revealed a rich deposit of the Starčevo culture, dating in the Early Stone Age.

The first geographer who located the position of Marsonia at the locality of Brod was Abraham Ortelius, who, in his atlas Theatrum orbis terrarum (Antwerp 1590) published a map, the objective of which was to reconstruct and connect the antic names of Panonian and Illyric settlements with the towns of that time.

The first Croatian expert, claiming that the Roman MARSVNNIA was located where Brod is now is Matija Petar Katančić, giving this assertion additional support.

Until 1918, Brod (named Brood before 1850)[7] remained in the Austrian monarchy (Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia after the compromise of 1867), in the Slavonian Military Frontier, under the administration of the Brooder Grenz-Infanterie-Regiment N°VII until 1881.

[11] During the Yugoslav wars, Slavonski Brod came under heavy bombardment from Bosnian Serb forces, positioned across the border in Bosanska Posavina, between April and October 1992, during Operation Corridor 92.

A total of 11,651 artillery shells and fourteen 9K52 Luna-M rockets were fired against the city, and 130 bombs were dropped from the air, resulting in the deaths of 116 civilians,[12] including 27 children.

[15] The city's economy is based on farming, viticulture, fruit growing, metal-processing, timber (furniture wood, parquetry), textiles (ready-made), leather, foodstuffs (brewery), building material (lime), and printing industries.

Slavonski Brod is also home to some of the most important metal companies in Southeastern Europe, the Djuro Djakovic consortium, consisting of a number of factories producing very diverse products, mainly for export.

The most important annual cultural event in the town is the children's festival 'In the World of the Fairy Tales of Writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić', in April and May.

The Brodsko kolo, an annual show of original folklore, is held in mid-June, while the Festival of Patriotic Folk Songs takes place in May.

Slavonski Brod has a train station on M104 railway corridor - it serves as a stop for all trains on international routes which passes through the town (such as Vinkovci - Villach or Zagreb - Belgrade), also being directly connected by a large number of domestic local and limited-stop services running between the capital city of Zagreb and Vinkovci/(Tovarnik, state border with Serbia).

[20] By regular bus lines from various companies, Slavonski Brod bus station is well connected with the surrounding villages, municipalities and cities in Slavonia, such as: Đakovo, Požega and Nova Gradiška, as well as with all major cities throughout Croatia: Pula, Rijeka, Umag, Poreč, Rovinj, Osijek, Zagreb, Karlovac, Zadar, Split, Šibenik, etc.

[24] Slavonski Brod is twinned with: Bjelovar, Bjelovar-BilogoraSlavonski Brod, Brod-PosavinaDubrovnik, Dubrovnik-NeretvaPazin, Istria Karlovac, KarlovacKoprivnica, Koprivnica-KriževciKrapina, Krapina-ZagorjeGospić, Lika-Senj Čakovec, MeđimurjeOsijek, Osijek-BaranjaPožega, Požega-SlavoniaRijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar Sisak, Sisak-MoslavinaSplit, Split-DalmatiaŠibenik, Šibenik-KninVaraždin, Varaždin Virovitica, Virovitica-PodravinaVukovar, Vukovar-SrijemZadar, ZadarZagreb, Zagreb