Sunagakure was founded by the First Kazekage, who gathered the desert-dwelling shinobi under his control with his overwhelming power. At some point the village would come into possession of the One-Tailed Shukaku, and in the coming years the beast was sealed into two different hosts so that its abilities could be studied. The Third Kazekage was able to emulate Shukaku's abilities, earning recognition as the strongest Kazekage in history. Sasori left the village after the emptiness of lacking parental love finally reached a breaking point, but later returned kidnapped and murdered the Third, likely sparking the Third Great Shinobi World War with Sunagakure attempts to find him.

During the Shinobi Wars, Sunagakure frequently fought with Konoha; Chiyo's attempts to poison enemies during the Second Great Shinobi World War were often counteracted by Tsunade. To compound this fact, following the Third Shinobi War, the Wind Daimyo began outsourcing missions to Konoha, leading to a lack of funding for Sunagakure. To make up for the loss of military power this created, the Fourth Kazekage sealed Shukaku into its third host, his own son: Gaara. It was hoped that Gaara would become a weapon for the village, but the power of Shukaku was too unstable and overwhelming for Gaara and the idea was abandoned. As time passed, however, the Fourth came to appreciate Gaara's increasing control and returned to relying on him as a weapon.

Later, Sunagakure was approached by Orochimaru with a proposition for a joint invasion of Konoha. The Fourth Kazekage was killed and impersonated by Orochimaru to give the impression of support, and Sunagakure was falsely led to a devastating loss against Konoha's forces. Once Orochimaru's deceit was discovered Sunagakure re-allied itself with Konoha, gaining much from the peace and leading to new prosperity for the village. By Part II, Gaara would be made Fifth Kazekage to replace his father.

When Akatsuki came to Suna to abduct Gaara, Sasori set several Exploding Tag traps and killed several guards, as well as reactivating two of his sleeper agents Yura and Mukade, while Deidara nearly devastated the entire village were it not for Gaara's Sky Sand Protective Wall. Regardless, Gaara was captured, and the village was in dismay.