It occurs in broadleaved evergreen and dense primary lowland and hill forests and bamboo, largely in true lowlands, although there are records up to 1,300 m on Borneo (Mann 2008) and up to 1,550 m in Peninsular Malaysia (Wells 1999). Forages on the ground and appears to be associated with large frugivorous mammals, especially pigs (McGowan et al. 2020). Abundance is higher in more intact forest (Jati et al. 2018) and in some sites the species is not found outside of primary forest at all (Peh et al. 2005).

Rollulus rouloul is confined to the Sundaic lowlands, where it is known from south Tenasserim, Myanmar, peninsular Thailand (where there are very few recent records), Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei, and Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia (BirdLife International 2001, eBird 2021). Forest loss within this range has been rapid over the past two decades and while the species is able to persist in selectively logged forest and can utilise early-stage regenerating forest it has undoubtedly declined and it appears likely that the range has been fragmented due to deforestation. At the northern edge of the range in Thailand there have apparently not been any records in Kaeng Krachan National Park for over a decade (Thaibirding.com 2020), although it is assumed to still occur in Hala Bala with continued presence noted in the contiguous Belum-Temengor Forest Complex in Malaysia (Chye 2010). Continued presence in the Krabi province is uncertain, previously the species was regularly seen at Khao Nor Chu Chi but there are no records from this part of Thailand in the past decade (GBIF 2021). The species does not occur on Singapore (Wells 1999), though there is a single historical specimen (GBIF 2021). Presence on Bangka and Belitung Islands off south east Sumatra is unclear: judged possibly extinct in 1989 (Holmes 1989) and apparently no recent records (GBIF 2021). There is also a record from eastern Thailand from 1934 (GBIF 2021): it is presumed the species no longer occurs in this area. 

Conservation Actions Underway
It occurs in a number of protected areas.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey to assess the size of the population. Regularly monitor the population at selected sites. Assess the effect of hunting on populations. Protect large areas of forest in areas where it occurs. Prevent trapping in protected areas.