"I'm really pleased to join a good club with good players," said Cisse.
"Sunderland are a club I think is going to achieve things, they have big ambitions, that is why I chose to come here. I liked what the club had to say to me."
Cisse, who was a member of Liverpool's Champions League-winning team in 2005, broke both legs during his time at Anfield and missed the 2006 World Cup because of the second injury.
He joined Marseille in July 2007 following a loan spell and scored 16 goals last season.
The Black Cats' latest signings follow the summer arrivals of Teemu Tainio, Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and El-Hadji Diouf.
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