The film is set two years after Final Fantasy VII and follows Cloud Strife as he unravels the cause of a mysterious plague that has beset the population. The initial DVD and UMD release of the film in 2005 was voiced in Japanese. The English-dubbed NTSC and PAL versions were released on April 25, 2006. The Spanish-dubbed PAL version was released on January 30, 2007, in UMD and on February 20, 2007, in DVD. The film's soundtrack, scored by Nobuo Uematsu, was released on September 28, 2005.

Two special editions of the Japanese version were released, including the "Ultimate Edition", Advent Pieces: Limited, which includes the OVA Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children was the first announced title in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and received the Honorary Maria Award at the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya on October 15, 2005.

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children was rated PG-13 in the United States by the Motion Picture Association of America for "sequences of intense sci-fi action violence", although it was never shown in theaters (as opposed to the last Final Fantasy CGI film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within).

At the Tokyo Game Show 2006, Square Enix showed a trailer of a director's cut of the movie, titled Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete for release on the Blu-ray disc format. New scenes will be added to the movie, including one where Sephiroth impales Cloud with his sword and then lifts his body up into the air.