This species is commensal with humans and can rapidly colonise urban habitats. It is quite adaptable and was presumably originally a wetland/riverbank/forest edge species that has adapted successfully to agricultural and residential landscapes, although it can still be found in dry forests. It is a nocturnal and fossorial species, breeding in small pools, usually seasonal rain pools, or ponds. It can burrow or climb into shrubby trees, and males have been observed calling by pools (Milto 2014). During the breeding season ,which lasts from March-June, and often after a rainstorm the females lay eggs in temporary ponds. The eggs are deposited in patches, containing approximately 4,000 eggs, and these patches float on the surface of the water. Females can lay eggs twice a year. After 24 hours, it can hatch tadpoles which complete metamorphosis in about 20 days. On Marinduque Island in the Philippines, an adult individual of Xenopeltis unicolor was observed hunting this species near their breeding pools (Milto 2014).

This species is widespread throughout much of Southeast Asia, South Asia and China, and has been recorded at elevations ranging from sea level up to 750 m asl. In Southeast Asia, it occurs from Myanmar, Thailand (including Phuket Island), Lao People's Democratic Republic, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah, Tioman and Langkawi), Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi [Makassar, Palu and Flores]), and Singapore. In South Asia, its range is fragmented across southeast and northeast Bangladesh (Khan 2018) and India (West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh). It is native to China (Yunnan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong and Macau), and has been introduced to Taiwan, Province of China, and the Philippines (D. Torres pers. comm. October 2018). This species has now also been confirmed to occur in Brunei Darussalam (Charles 2008, Mediyansyah pers. comm. May 2017).

Since the 2004 assessment, a subpopulation in an unspecified location in 'Tonkin' northern Viet Nam has now been assigned to this species following the synonymy with Kaloula macrocephala (Ohler 2003). Additional records for Indonesia have also been provided, including multiple localities in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesia Red List Assessment Workshop May 2017), as well as Lore Lindu National Park in central Sulawesi (Wanger et al. 2011). New records from Peninsular Thailand (Phi Phi Don Island) have also been confirmed (Milto 2014). This species has been introduced more widely and has been confirmed in Guam, although it is unknown whether breeding subpopulations have been established (Christy et al. 2007), and in multiple localities (Palawan, Luzon, Mindanao Island, Marinduque Island, Mindoro Island) across the Philippines (Fidenci 2009, Siler et al. 2011, Sy 2013, Sy and Malabana 2015, Sy et al. 2016).

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species has been recorded in numerous protected areas including Lore Lindu National Park, central Sulawesi (Wanger et al. 2011), and Kerinci Seblat National Park in Indonesia (M. Munir pers. comm. May 2017). This species is on the "List of Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Value Terrestrial Wild Animals under States Protection", under the protection of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife", which provides a moderate degree of protection and makes it illegal to collect (China Red List Assessment Workshop June 2019).