The Common Noctule generally roosts in tree cavities, especially those dug by woodpeckers, but may use bat boxes or artificial bird nests or, locally, buildings (panel buildings or wall crevices). Nyctalus noctula is an open space forager that catches prey on the wing, mostly over lakes, pastures, grassland or along the forest edge; it may also feed in urban areas, where they avoid artificial illumination when commuting, but not necessarily when foraging. Home range sizes appear to be strongly affected by the resource availability and productiveness of the surrounding habitat. A bat with an impressive diet breadth, often including Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera (reviewed in Lindecke et al. 2020).

Nyctalus noctula is a partial migrant that covers medium to long distances, up to 1,600 km (Hutterer et al. 2005), in their movements between summer and hibernation areas, mostly from the Northeast to the Southwest and back. Part of European common noctules, however, stay in the same area year-round.

The Common Noctule occurs across much of continental Europe and the British Isles but is absent from Ireland, yet in parts of its range, such as in the Iberian Peninsula, its distribution is patchy. It occurs northwards up to 60-61°N, including southern, and the range extends east to western and central Russia, south to Italy, Greece and Cyprus (reviewed in Lindecke et al. 2020). The range of altitudes where this species can be found varies between 0 and 2,518 m asl. The AOO and EOO have not been estimated, but based on the available locality records, they are expected to greatly exceed the threshold for a threatened category.

Out of Europe, the species is recorded in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, and Mongolia, which suggests that the species occurs in the entire of Eurasia (reviewed in Lindecke et al. 2020). The species' presence in the Maghreb region of North Africa awaits confirmation, while it is rare (possibly vagrant) in the Arabian Peninsula.

Nyctalus noctula is protected by national legislation in most range states. There are also international legal obligations for its protection through the EUROBATS Agreement and Bern Convention, in parts of its range where these apply. It is included in Annex IV of the EU Habitats & Species Directive. According to the 2013-2018, Article 17 report on the species' status in the EU done according to the 92/43/EEC "Habitats" Directive (https://nature-art17.eionet.europa.eu/), it has an unfavourable-inadequate status in four biogeographic regions (Black Sea, Boreal, Continental, and Mediterranean Regions), unfavourable-bad in Continental - Bulgaria and good in Pannonian and Steppic regions. There is no evidence of significant declines across Europe. Protection of suitable tree roosts and unmanaged forest patches is essential for the conservation of this species. In regions where bats roost in buildings, such sites also need strict protection. Common bats are also victims of wind turbines, so careful impact assessments and the application of appropriate mitigation measures are needed where relevant.