Bridge, 31, who arrived at City from Chelsea three years ago in a 12 million pounds deal, has made fewer than 60 appearances for the club and has played only 78 minutes this season in a League Cup match in September.
"I'm very pleased to have him here and with the number of injuries we have sustained recently I am sure he'll be a great help to us," Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill said on the club's official website.
Last month City manager Roberto Mancini suggested he had no idea what Bridge did on Saturday afternoons and thought he was happy to play golf and pick up his reported 95,000 pounds a week salary rather than play football.
Bridge responed by saying: "Roberto Mancini obviously does not know me very well because I do not play golf. There is no one at the club who trains harder. I do everything that is asked of me but there is no future for me at Manchester City."
Bridge, who has struggled to get into the first team at City since the arrival of Aleksandar Kolarov in July 2010, spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham United.
He has made more than 400 domestic appearances since beginning his career with Southampton before a move to Chelsea in 2003.
Bridge also earned 36 England caps before retiring from international football for personal reasons.
