It occupies a wide variety of habitats, including deciduous, mixed or coniferous forests, moorland, pastures, arable land, and suburban areas with large gardens. It prefers landscapes with a mosaic of woodland and farmland (Sempéré et al. 1996, Lorenzini et al. 2022). Roe Deer are well adapted to modern agricultural landscapes.

The European Roe Deer has a large range in the Western Palaearctic. It is found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland and the Mediterranean islands), including western Russia and the Caucasus (Lorenzini et al. 2022). The easternmost range of the European Roe Deer is in contact and partly overlaps with that of the Siberian Roe Deer in the Volga-Don region (Kashinina et al. 2018). It occurs from sea level to 2,700 m, in the Alps (Büntgen et al. 2017).

Outside Europe, the species occurs in Transcaucasia, Türkiye, northwestern Syria, northern Iraq, and western and northern Iran (Masseti 2004, Wilson and Reeder 2005, Amiri et al. 2021). It went extinct in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan during the 19th and early 20th century. Recently it was reintroduced in northern Israel (Mount Carmel; 1997-2007) and northwestern Jordan (Ajloun Forest, 2009), but after years the numbers of surviving animals of both populations remain quite small.

The species is listed on the Bern Convention (Appendix III) and occurs in a large number of protected areas across its range.

To protect remnant populations of the Italian Roe Deer C. c. italicus, Lorenzini et al. (2002) recommend the following measures: (1) Conduct research to determine the genetic structure of Italian Roe Deer, (2) Map extant populations of Italian Roe Deer, with indications of their genetic purity, (3) Prohibit translocations of Roe Deer from northern stocks to central and southern Italy, and vice versa, (4) Facilitate the expansion of remaining populations by reducing poaching and eliminating feral dogs, and (5) Establish a reintroduction plan for southern Italy. Actually, reintroductions were carried out in 2001-2014 in Tolfa Mountains (Latium), Cilento National Park (S Campania), Aspromonte N. P. (southern Calabria), Gallipoli-Cognato Regional Park (Basilicata).

Similar actions are recommended to protect genetically distinct peripheral native populations in Scotland, Iberian Peninsula, North Macedonia, and Greece. In general, any translocations of Roe Deer should respect the genetic integrity of populations at the destination site.