Born in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France, Sautet first studied painting and sculpture before attending a film university in Paris where he began his career and later became a television producer. He filmed his first movie, Bonjour Sourire, in 1955.

He earned international attention with Les Choses de la Vie (1969), which he wrote and directed, like the rest of his later films. It was shown in competition at the 1970 Cannes Festival, where it was well received. The film also revived the career of Romy Schneider; she acted in several of Sautet's later films. In Max et les Ferrailleurs (1971) she played a prostitute, while in César et Rosalie (1972) she portrayed a married woman who copes with the reappearance of an old flame.

Vincent, Paul, François, et les Autres (1974) is one of Sautet's most acclaimed films. Four middle-class men meet in the country every weekend mainly to discuss their lives. The film featured a cast of major stars of French cinema: Michel Piccoli, Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, and Stéphane Audran. He achieved even further critical success with Mado (1976).

His 1978 film A Simple Story (Une Histoire simple) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1]The film featured Schneider again, this time as a dissatisfied working woman in her 40s. She won the César Award for Best Actress for her performance.

In the 1980s he made only two films Garçon! (1983), a drama starring Yves Montand as a middle-aged waiter, and the comedy Quelques Jours Avec Moi (1988).

In 1993, Claude Sautet won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the César Award for Best Director for his film Un cœur en hiver (considered by many[who?] to be his masterpiece) and again three years later he won the César for Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud. Both films starred Emmanuelle Béart. Apart from his own directing, he also wrote screenplays for other directors.

Claude Sautet died of cancer in Paris in 2000 and was buried there in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.