The series was based on Tim Allen's stand-up comedy routines and launched his acting career.

Home Improvement was ABC's number-one sitcom for most of its run and grossed more than $500 million in syndication revenue by 1996.

In the 1993–1994 season, Tim Allen simultaneously had the No. 1 book (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man), the No. 1 film (The Santa Clause), and the No. 2 rated TV show.

Starting in season 4, the show's logo became an anthropomorphic character used in different animations during the cold open, and by season 6 it introduced itself as 'Homey'.

The show-within-a-show Tool Time was conceived as a parody of the PBS series This Old House, with Tim and Al Borland serving as caricatures of hosts Bob Vila and Norm Abram; Al's beard and plaid flannel shirts specifically referenced Abram's look.

Bob Vila made guest appearances on several episodes of Home Improvement, while Tim Allen and Pamela Anderson both appeared on Vila's own show Home Again.

Neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) was famously never shown full-face throughout the entire series—always partially obscured by the fence, a mask, a balaclava, or an object—except in the final episode.

Tim Taylor often wore sweatshirts or T-shirts from Michigan-based colleges and universities, sent by the schools for free advertising, since Allen considered Michigan his home state and only allowed Michigan schools this exposure; exceptions included a Wofford College (South Carolina) sweatshirt and an Owens Community College (Ohio) sweatshirt in two episodes.

The series ended after eight seasons in 1999 when lead actors Patricia Richardson (offered $25 million) and Tim Allen (offered $50 million) both declined offers to continue for a ninth season.

For the 2003 reunion special Tim Allen Presents: A User's Guide to Home Improvement, a terminally ill Earl Hindman contributed voice-overs fitting his never-seen Wilson persona; he died shortly after the special aired.