Maternity colonies of lesser horseshoe bats, generally numbering dozens to (rarely) hundreds of bats, often roost in attics of buildings of different sizes, but (especially in the south of the range) also in caves or, very rarely, in hollow trees (D. Russo, pers. obs.). Hibernation occurs in natural or artificial underground sites. The species mostly forages in forests, riparian forests or scrubland, and travels, on average, 1.0-1.7 km from the roost to reach foraging sites, where it hunts by aerial hawking or more rarely perch hunting. It mostly feeds on Diptera, Lepidoptera, Trichoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera, depending on the study area (reviewed in Schofield et al. in press). Rhinolophus hipposideros is sedentary, with winter and summer roosts generally within 5-10 km (up to 153 km: Hutterer et al. 2005).

Rhinolophus hipposideros has a wide distribution in southern Europe, occurring in all Mediterranean countries and on all the main islands in the Basin. The species occurs in Turkey and the Balkan Peninsula, and its range extends north to southern Poland and Ukraine. Widespread in France, the lesser horseshoe bat occurs in some areas of Belgium, a restricted area of Germany, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, and Switzerland, and the southwest of Britain and Ireland (reviewed in Schofield et al. in press). Also present in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, North Africa (López-Baucells et al. 2012). The range of altitudes where this species can be found varies between 0 and 2,000 m asl.

Outside Europe, the species occurs in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and the eastern part of the Sinai, Israel, in eastern Africa, Anatolia and the countries of the Levant (A.C.R. 2021), and occurs patchily in some regions of Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

The Lesser Horseshoe Bat is protected by national legislation in most range states, as well as by the Eurobats Agreement and Bern Convention. Included in Annex II (and IV) of 92/43 EEC Habitats Directive and therefore requiring designation of special areas of conservation (Natura 2000 network) for its protection in the EU. In the latest (2013-2018) Article 17 reporting done under the above-mentioned Directive, the species has a favourable conservation status in the Atlantic and Steppic biogeographic regions, unfavourable-inadequate in the remaining regions. To protect this species, 2,440 Natura 2000 Sites have been designated according to the Habitats Directive.

Protecting the roosts of this species, both underground and in buildings, is crucial for their conservation. While maintaining and expanding forests as well as riparian vegetation, which serves as their primary foraging habitat, is important, it is also necessary to ensure that the surrounding landscape can be crossed to reach the foraging sites. This can be achieved by increasing linear landscape features such as tree lines and hedgerows in open landscapes. Artificial illumination can hinder the species' commuting ability, even if necessary landscape features are present. Therefore, creating dark corridors or strategically deploying lighting can be helpful. At the roost level, lights should be directed away from roost entrances on historical buildings vegetation cover should be maintained near roosts. One of the key challenges in conserving this species is ensuring landscape permeability, particularly in the face of increasing urbanization and transportation infrastructure development. Therefore, it is necessary to provide safe means for the lesser horseshoe bat to cross road and rail links (Schofield et al. 2022).