Emballonura furax has been recorded in areas of Lowland Rainforest, Hill Forest and Lower Montane Forest. Acoustic survey data suggest that it can be locally common but it is rarely captured other than by visiting roosts in limestone caves and mining tunnels (Flannery 1995, Bonaccorso 1998, K.N. Armstrong and K.P. Aplin, unpublished data). The spatial pattern of acoustic recordings as well as its wing morphology suggest that it forages in open areas, probably over and amongst canopy. The few encounters with E. furax at roosts have involved small groups of several to a few dozen individuals. The same sites typically contain much larger numbers of E. dianae and/or E. raffrayana. It is not known whether E. furax prefers to roost in deeper chambers of the same cave systems or alternatively, uses a variety of smaller roost types including small rock shelters and fissures. There are no instances of it roosting in tree hollows or epiphtyes but the fact that another sympatric emballonurid Mosia nigrescens uses both cave and vegetation roosts cautions against rejecting this possibility.

Emballonura furax is endemic to New Guinea and nearby islands. It has been recorded from sea level to 1,500 m Asl. In Papua New Guinea, it has been collected from Chimbu, Gulf, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces (Bonaccorso 1998). A prior record from Passam (near Wewak) in East Sepik Province has been reassessed as E. serii (K.P. Aplin and K.M. Helgen unpublished data). More recently, surveys have recorded some captures and the echolocation call in localities with underlying limestone geology between 50–1000 m in Western and Gulf provinces (K.P. Aplin and K.N. Armstrong unpublished data). The only indication of its presence north of the cordillera are echolocation calls from a locality in Morobe Province (K.N. Armstrong unpublished data), whereas extensive surveys in Sandaun (West Sepik) Province failed to detect its characteristic echolocation call type (K.P. Aplin and K.N. Armstrong unpublished data). Within Papua Province, Indonesia, the species has been recorded from the Kapari River of Fakfak District (type locality), Yapen Island, and from Biak Island. Defining the distribution of this species is further complicated by issues of taxonomy and identification of the type. The record from the type locality at the Kapari River suggests that its distribution may extend further west on the southern side of the cordillera in Papua Province, and presence of this species on Yapen and Biak islands suggests that the taxonomic relationships within E. furax and E. serii are not completely understood.