It is associated in with emergent vegetation at the margins of swamps, rivers and lakes in all types of savannah, grassland and bush land, as well as many human-modified habitats, including cultivated land, towns and gardens. It spreads rapidly into recently created waterbodies. It breeds in a wide variety of aquatic habitats, ranging from very small to very large ponds, usually using permanent, but often also in temporary, waterbodies. The eggs are deposited directly into the water.

This species ranges from northern Mozambique, through eastern Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe to Swaziland and eastern and southern South Africa. The western parts of the range in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa probably represent recent spread at higher altitudes. It has also extended its range along the south coast of South Africa (it originally did not occur west of Tstitsikamma). The distributional limits between this species, and other members of the Hyperolius viridiflavus complex, in particular H. glandicolor and H. marginatus, are extremely unclear. The distribution map should therefore be regarded as provisional. It occurs from sea level up to 1,600 m asl in South Africa.

It occurs in many protected areas.