The T-10 has the distinction of being the last heavy tank produced by the USSR, before these were fully replaced by main battle tanks. It was also the last in the IS (Iosef Stalin) series, but renamed due to political considerations after his death. The T-10 is broadly similar to the IS-3, although it features a longer hull, a more powerful gun as well as improved armor protection. Like most Soviet heavy tanks, they were deployed as part of independent tank units in support of infantry or to provide additional anti-tank support for the MBTs as well as to exploit breakthroughs. However, their limited speed made them impractical in the Cold War battlefield, and the design had numerous shortcomings, not least the gun's limited depression and a slow rate of fire. Ultimately, the T-10 was replaced in Soviet service by the 1960s although they saw action with Egyptian and Syrian armies in the Middle East with only mixed success.

The initial IS-10 (Ob'yekt 730) entered service in 1952 and was renamed I-10 following Stalin’s death. Gun stabilizers were added in the T-10A (single-plane) and T-10B (dual-plane). A modernized variant was designed T-10M with a longer-barreled M-62-T2 gun and higher-caliber machine guns, as well as infra-red searchlights and an NBC system. A snorkel could also be fitted for river-crossing operations.