Based on the Tu-16 jet bomber, it kept the same long landing gear but used a wider fuselage seating 50 passengers (increased to 100 on the B and V models). The bomber's glazed nose was retained - it was a useful feature as at the time the Soviet Union had few electronic navigational aids, making a visual navigator useful.
Because of the fatigue problems of the Comet the Tu-104 was for a few years the only jet aircraft in active service in the world.
A 4-engined variant, the Tu-110 was rejected by Aeroflot.