The species is an occupant of forested habitat. It has been reported from multistratal deciduous and evergreen rainforest, riverine gallery forest, xeric chaco, cerrado and dry scrub forest (Handley 1976, Mondolfi 1976, Schaller 1983, Emmons and Feer 1990, Brooks 1993). It is found over a wide altitudinal range, with Andean individuals found at elevations up to 2,500 m (Lönnberg 1921). Nasua nasua is omnivorous, eating predominantly invertebrates and fruit (Gompper and Decker 1998). The consumption of vertebrates has been noted, but is never common (Kaufmann, 1962, Russell 1982, Schaller 1983, Bisbal 1986, Gompper 1996, Beisiegel 2001). It is essentially diurnal. Adult males are solitary, while females and immature males travel in groups up to 30 individuals (Crespo 1982, Schaller 1983, Emmons and Feer 1990).

Nasua nasua is broadly distributed in South America, ranging from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Uruguay and northern Argentina in the south (Gompper and Decker 1998). The species is absent from the Llano grasslands of Venezuela (Eisenberg 1989). It has been introduced to Robinson Crusoe, one of the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile (Miller and Rottmann 1976, Pine et al. 1979, Colwell 1989).

This species is protected under CITES Appendix III as N. n. solitaria in Uruguay. It occurs in numerous protected areas.