This species is associated with ponds in lowland secondary evergreen forest characterised by a vegetation community of hardwoods, bamboo and shrubs (Bernardes et al. 2013, M. Bernardes pers. comm. July 2020, A. Ohler pers. comm. August 2020). Most observations of the species have occurred around temporary pools during the breeding season (Bernardes et al. 2013). Outside of this period the species is predominantly terrestrial (Bernardes et al. 2013, A. Ohler pers. comm. August 2020). Reproduction is by aquatic larval development and coincides with the rainy season when pools and ponds form (Bernardes et al. 2013). Densely vegetated pools with relatively long hydroperiods appear to be preferred by the species, and both eggs and larvae have been recorded in such pools from April to July (Bernardes et al. 2013). Forest habitat in much of Viet Nam is being lost to agriculture (Sodhi et al. 2009), including in areas that are likely inhabited by this species (Bernardes et al. 2013). Recent satellite imagery reveals that the forest of the species' only known localities is almost entirely surrounded (and in parts intersected) by agricultural land (T. Cutajar pers. obs. September 2020).

This species is currently known from 181-980 m asl in Bac Giang, Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces, northeastern Viet Nam (Böhme et al. 2005, Bernardes et al. 2013, Hecht et al. 2013, Bernardes et al. 2017a, Bernardes et al. 2017b, Bernardes unpubl. data. July 2020). This is unlikely to represent the actual limits of this species' range; habitat and elevations similar to those at its known localities occur in adjacent and intervening areas including Guangxi Province, China. Further surveys may reveal the species' presence in these areas and they have been included in the range map associated with this assessment as potential range. The species' extent of occurrence (EOO) is 6,639 km², which represents 4-10 threat-defined localities. Some records previously assigned to this species have now been assigned to Tylototriton pasmansi (Bernardes et al. 2020).

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species is known from Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve (Böhme et al. 2005) and Dong Son - Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Quang Ninh Province (Bernardes et al. 2017b), both in Viet Nam. Its mapped range intersects with additional protected areas in Viet Nam (IUCN and UNEP 2014), and it likely occurs in some of these. It is also subject to conservation actions through the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), the Me Linh station for Biodiversity, Viet Nam and the Cologne Zoo, Germany including captive breeding programmes, capacity building, and public awareness (M. Bernardes pers. comm. July 2020). Over 200 individuals have been successfully bred and raised to metamorphosis at Cologne Zoo. Progeny from the zoo's breeding programme have been distributed to other European zoos as an insurance population, with some also being repatriated to Viet Nam, where they are held and have been successfully bred by IEBR (Rauhaus et al. 2018, Ziegler and Rauhaus 2019).  The species is listed in CITES Appendix II.

Research Needed
An important step towards ensuring this species' persistence is addressing the lack of data; further research is needed on its true distribution, habitat and ecology, threats (with a focus on harvest and trade data), and the size and trends of its population.