This species can be found in a variety of habitats from arid regions to thick forests. It roosts in colonies of a few individuals in old dilapidated buildings, temples, cellars, caves, among large boulders, old forts (Srinivauslu, C. pers. obs. 2015) and old wells. It is a late flyer with a slow, fluttering and low flight and feeds on cockroaches and coleopterans. A single young is born after a gestation period of 150-160 days (Bates and Harrison 1997).

This species is very widely distributed in South Asia in Afghanistan (Laghman and Nangarhar provinces), India (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh), Nepal (Central Nepal), Pakistan (Khyberpakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan, Punjab and Sind) and Sri Lanka (Central, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces) (Molur et al. 2002, Srinivasulu and Srinivasulu 2012, Salim and Mahmood-ul-Hassan 2014, Perveen and Rahman 2015, Benda and Gaisler 2015). It has been recorded from sea level to an elevation of 2,600 m asl. It has been recorded from western Yunnan in China (Smith and Xie 2008). Records of this species from Viet Nam from are probably erroneous, based on misidentified Hipposideros pomona (Borissenko and Kruskop 2003).

There are no direct conservation measures in place. The species has been recorded from a few protected areas in India. Further studies are needed into the distribution, abundance, breeding biology and general ecology of this species.