Chaetophractus villosus is present in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, savannas, steppes, forests, and even degraded areas, such as agroecosystems (Abba et al. 2012, 2016; Gallo et al. 2022). In Bolivia it is frequent in the Chaco forests with well-drained sandy soils and in low dry forests with medium-drained soils (Tarifa and Romero-Muñoz 2009, Noss et al. 2010). In Chile, it is frequent in the steppe and the ecotone with the subantarctic forest of Magallanes and Aysén Regions (Iriarte 2008, Tamayo 2009).

Chaetophractus villosus is found in Argentina, the “Gran Chaco” of Bolivia and Paraguay, and southern Chile (Superina and Abba 2018, Gallo et al. 2022). It is widespread in Argentina but absent from the northwest (Jujuy province and western parts of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan) and northeast (Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Misiones provinces). Its presence in the south-central part of continental Patagonia was first reported about 100 years ago (Abba et al. 2014). Chaetophractus villosus was introduced in the Argentinean portion of Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego more than 35 years ago (Gallo et al. 2020). It is now also present in the Chilean portion of the island (Cabello et al. 2017). In Bolivia it is present in Arenales del Chaco, Bosque Tucumano-Boliviano, Gran Chaco Norte, and Gran Chaco Sur (Noss et al. 2010, Aliaga Rossel et al. 2021). In Paraguay, C. villosus is most common in the Dry Chaco, with marginal occurrence in the Humid Chaco and possibly the Cerrados del Chaco ecoregions (Smith and Rios 2018). In Chile it was originally found from the region of BioBío south to Magallanes (Abba et al. 2014), but recent records are restricted to Aysén and Magallanes (Pasutti Morales 2017). It ranges from sea level up to 1,500 m Asl (Argentina).