The series was created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis and was inspired by the 1983 film Lone Wolf McQuade, which also starred Chuck Norris as a Texas Ranger.

The show was initially developed by executive producer Allison Moore and supervising producer J. Michael Straczynski while it was still produced by Cannon Television, but Straczynski had to leave to launch his own series Babylon 5, leaving executive producer David Moessinger to finish developing the series.

Cordell Walker's surname is possibly a nod to Chuck Norris's 1986 film Firewalker, as his character's uncle in the series is named Ray Firewalker.

The show had a notable product placement deal with Chrysler, especially Dodge: after using a GMC Sierra in the first season, Walker switched to a Dodge Ram, while villains were made to drive General Motors or Ford vehicles, similar to the Ford sponsorship deal on The Andy Griffith Show.

C.D. Parker actor Noble Willingham left the show midway through season 8 to run for Congress, which was written into the plot as the character going on a world cruise, and the character was later revealed to have died of poisoning in the final season.

For the 2005 TV movie Trial by Fire, Clarence Gilyard only shot a brief cameo because filming conflicted with a long-planned family vacation, prompting producers to bring back Judson Mills's Francis Gage character, who was not originally in the script, to fill the gap; Nia Peeples's Sydney Cooke character was also left out to give the film a fresh look.

The show became a cult phenomenon on Conan O'Brien's Late Night thanks to the recurring 'Walker Texas Ranger Lever' segment, which played random, out-of-context clips from the series for comic effect; Chuck Norris eventually made a surprise in-character appearance on the show to parody the bit.

On December 2, 2010, Chuck Norris and his brother/series co-producer Aaron Norris were named Honorary Texas Ranger Captains by Texas Governor Rick Perry.