At Michael's hearing, very few of the senators, judges, etc. are actually actors. They are friends, acquaintances, and family of various members of the cast and crew.

The flashback scene at the end of the movie was supposed to include Marlon Brando, but on the day of the shoot, he didn't show up. However, Francis Ford Coppola had heard this rumour a few days before, and had come up with an alternate scene, which is the one in the movie. He says "Even though he wasn't there, you feel the Godfather's presence".

Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro are the only two actors to have won Oscars for playing the same character.

It was Thalia Shire's idea to have the character of Kay have an abortion instead of just a miscarriage. She thought it made the whole situation a lot more personal and impacting, and Francis Ford Coppola obviously agreed.

For his cameo at the end of the film, James Caan received the same amount of money he received for the first film.

The golden telephone presented to Batista is based in actual events. You can see the actual, gold-plated (not solid gold) telephone in Havana's Museum of the Revolution. The replica made for the movie looks pretty much like the original.

This was the first sequel to win the Oscar for "Best Picture."

Robert DeNiro went to a dentist and had smaller versions of the implants in Marlon Brando's mouth put in.

Troy Donahue appears as a character named "Merle Johnson," which is Donahue's birth name.