The FBI is investigating the shooting - which erupted early on Sunday, a day after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran - as a potential act of terrorism.
Police shot and killed the gunman, who used both a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.
The shooting happened outside Buford's Backyard Beer Garden just before 2am on Sunday along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few kilometres from the University of Texas at Austin.
The suspect drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting from the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
He then parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him, Davis said.
Three of the injured were in critical condition on Sunday morning.
The gunman was identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Authorities haven't provided a clear motive for the attacks but found "indicators" on the gunman and in his vehicle leading them to look into the possibility of terrorism, said Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio office.
"It's still too early to make a determination on that," Doran said on Sunday morning.
Diagne first entered the US in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a US citizen, according to DHS.
He became a naturalised citizen in 2013, the department said. Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to multiple people briefed on the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation.
The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned the state would respond aggressively to anyone trying to "use the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texas".
University of Texas at Austin President Jim Davis said some of those affected included "members of our Longhorn family".
"Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted," he said.
The entertainment district has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers were able to confront the gunman within a minute of the first call for help, Davis said.
There have been at least two other high-profile shootings in Austin's Sixth Street entertainment district within the past five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that left 14 people wounded. Although this weekend's shooting doesn't meet the definition of a mass killing, there have been five of those so far in 2026.
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