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The Sontarans made their first appearance in the 1974 serial, The Time Warrior. There, it was explained that they are a race that reproduces by means of cloning, with no females, and are a militaristic society obsessed by war. Sontarans are humanoid, with a squat build and distinctive dome-shaped head. They come from a high-gravity world, and "recharge" their energy through a probic vent at the back of the neck rather than consuming food. The Sontarans have been at war with the Rutan Host for millennia. At one point the Sontarans successfully invaded Gallifrey itself, but were driven out again after less than a day ( The Invasion of Time).

Other appearances by the Sontarans in Doctor Who include The Sontaran Experiment, The Two Doctors, and the spin-off video, Shakedown.

The non-canonical Doctor Who role-playing game from FASA provides the following information: The Sontarans were originally a conventional two-gendered species, but early in their history as a space-faring people (approximately 1400 BC Earth time) they shifted over to a clone-based method of reproduction. This was a result of their government's takeover by their highest military official, General Sontaris (sometimes called Sontar), who used newly developed bioengineering techniques to clone himself millions of times over. Sontaris annihilated the non-clone population and renamed the species after himself. All Sontarans since then are derived from the genetic stock of General Sontaris, though some modifications have been introduced over time. General Sontaris's militaristic outlook forever altered the Sontarans' civilization. They became an expansionistic and warlike species, expanding slowly and crushing all other races they encountered in their path. Then, around 200 BCCenturies: 3rd century BC 2nd century BC 1st century BC Decades: 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC Years: 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC 202 BC 201 BC 200 BC 199 BC 198 BC 197 BC 196 BC 195 BC Events Rome declar Earth time, the Sontarans encountered the Rutan Host. The Rutans were as powerful and as aggressive as the Sontarans, and war broke out immediately. The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans has continued for at least five thousand years, with both sides remaining fairly evenly matched and neither side interested in negotiating for peace.

Earth remained largely uninvolved with the Sontaran-Rutan conflict, with only occasional scouts and crash-landings by either side.

They have also appeared in several spin off novels, the most notable being The Infinity Doctors where the DoctorThe Doctor is the only known name of the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who and also featured in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series. For a more general negotiated a peace between the Sontarans and the Rutan Host.