This species lives and breeds in mountain forest streams of varying sizes, where the larvae also develop. Adults mainly live in water, and hide under the rocks or in caves in streams. In winter it hibernates on land.

This species is endemic to China, and is known from Zhejiang Province (in Suicang, Yunhe, Jiangshan, Longquan, Qingyuan, Taishun, Wenling, Zhoushan, Dinghai and Jingyun), Fujian Province (in Dehua, Nanping, Jianyang, Wuyishan, Longyan and Fuzhou), and eastern Jiangxi Province. It has been recorded from an elevational range between 600–1,900 m asl. Following analysis, the subpopulation from Mount Zhejiang has now been assigned to Pachytriton granulosus, which has been resurrected from synonymy with this species (Hou et al. 2009).

Conservation Actions In-Place
A number of protected areas in the region support this species. 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).