In the introduced range, Raccoon Dogs favour moist meadows and other habitats with abundant undergrowth, mixed forests and shores of rivers and lakes, especially in early summer (Korneev 1954, Nasimovich and Isakov 1985, Kauhala 1996). In late summer and autumn, they favour moist heaths with abundant berries (Morozov 1947, Kauhala 1996). However, in the Finnish archipelago, they live in barren pine forests where they feed on crowberries (Empetrum nigrum) (Kauhala and Auniola 2000). In Finland, generally the best landscape for Raccoon Dogs is a landscape with abundant undergrowth, a mosaic of moist forests, damp meadows, gardens and agricultural area (Kauhala and Auttila 2010, Kauhala et al. 2010). The population is sparse in large coniferous forests.

The species was introduced in the early to mid-part of the 20th Century to European parts of the former Soviet Union and since then the species has become widespread in northern and eastern Europe, thriving in a landscape which is a mosaic of moist forests with abundant undergrowth, damp meadows and gardens (Kauhala et al. 2010). The northern limit of distribution lies in areas where the mean temperature of the year is just above 0°C, the snow cover <800 mm, the duration of the snow cover <175 days and the length of the growing season >135 days (for example, in Finland the northern limit of permanent distribution is between 65°N and the Arctic Circle). In recent years, when winters have become milder, the Raccoon Dog has expanded its range northwards (in Finland, up to 67°N). Raccoon Dogs appear to have been expanding their range in recent times, including a record in 2002 from the central part of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (at the time the southernmost point of its European range; Ćirović 2006) and a road-kill in south-eastern Spain in 2008 (Kauhala and Kowalczyk 2011). The Raccoon Dog also occurs in Italy, although it is reported only as occasional (Loy et al. 2019, Pecorella et al. 2023).

The native range of this species extends from northern Indochina (ranging as far south as north-eastern Viet Nam, east of the Red River, and southern Yunnan province in China) through the eastern provinces of China and the Korean Peninsula to the south-east corner of Russia and Mongolia. In the Japanese Archipelago, the species is present throughout Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Awaji Island, Sado Island and other islets of Japan except those south of Kyushu (e.g., Okinawa Islands, Nansei Islands, Miyako Islands and Ogasawara Islands). Introduced to Yakushima island (S. Azuma, in Kauhala and Saeki 2004b). Absent from Hainan and Taiwan, Province of China.

This species is not listed in the CITES Appendices. In many countries in the introduced part of their range, where the Raccoon Dog is legally hunted, hunting is permitted year round (e.g., Sweden, Hungary). However, in Finland, females with pups are protected in May, June and July, and in Belarus hunting is allowed from 1^st October to the end of February.

Captive animals still exist on fur farms in some countries (e.g., Finland and China).