Inhabits dry, deciduous forest in the north of its range, tropical lowland, sub-montane and montane rain forest, seasonally inundated forest, and savanna forests. Arboreal quadrupeds, they are typically found in the lower to mid-canopy and understory (Freese and Oppenheimer 1981; Fragaszy et al. 2004; Jack 2007; Tirira 2007).

Frugivores-insectivores. They are extractive, manipulative foragers. Largely sympatric with the tufted capuchins, either Cebus apella or C. macrocephalus, but the species differ most markedly in their diet through their use of palm fruits (Terborgh 1983; Spironello 1991, 2001). Mean group size for Cebus albifrons is 19.8 individuals, with numbers of males similar to numbers of females (adult sex ratio of 1.08). Males disperse. Both sexes take up linear hierarchies, with males dominant to females (Fragaszy et al. 2004). A field study of the ecology and behaviour of C. albifrons albifrons was carried out by Defler (1979a,b) in the llanos of El Tuparro Natinal Park, Colombia. There he observed groups of 8-15 individuals, with one group using a home range of about 120 ha. Groups of up to 35 individuals use home ranges of similar size (120-150 ha in the humid tropical forests of Ecuador (Tirira 2007).

Size: Adult male 1.7-3.3 kg (mean 2.48 kg); adult female: 1.4-2.3 kg (mean 1.8 kg) (Jack 2007).

Cebus albifrons occurs throughout the Colombian Amazon north of the Rios Putumayo and Amazonas (Mittermeier et al. 2014). Defler (2004) indicated that C. a. albifrons is the form occurring in the Department of Arauca (south of the Río Arauca) and also in Vichada between the Ríos Meta and Tuparro. Another population occurs between the upper reaches of the Ríos Vaupés and Isan in the Department of Vaupes (Hernández-Camacho and Cooper 1976). It occurs in the Venezuelan Amazon, south into Brazil into the states of Amazonas and Roraima, north to the Solimoes River and on the western banks of the Rios Branco and Negro. The range limits in the western and southern part of the distribution are at the boundaries with the distributions of C. yuracus and C. unicolor.  There is some uncertainty whether the range of C. albifrons should be restricted to between the Rio Negro and Rio Branco (Boubli et al. 2012) or whether it extends south from the Rio Negro to the Rio Solimões in western Brazil (Rylands et al. 2013).

According to Global Forest Watch data for those regions of the Amazon Basin of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil in which this species occurs, projected forest loss over the course of the current and subsequent two generations (2019-2066) will be approximately 5% (Global Forest Watch 2020).

This species is listed on CITES Appendix II. It occurs in a number of protected areas across its range:

Brazil

• Amazonas National Park
• Serra do Divisor National Park
• Colombia
• Amacayacu Natural National Park (293,000 ha) (Defler 1994)
• Cahuinarí Natural National Park (575,500 ha) (Defler 1994)
• Serrania de Chiribiquete Natural National Park (1,280,000 ha)
• La Paya Natural National Park (442,000 ha) (Defler 1994)
• Serranía de la Macarena Natural National Park (630,000 ha)
• Chiribiquete Natural National Park (1,280,000 ha) (Defler 1994)
• Puinawai Natrual Reserve (1,092,000 ha) (Defler 1994)
• Nukak Natural Reserve (855,000 ha) (Defler 1994)
• El Tuparro National Park (548,000 ha) (Defler 1979a,b)
• Venezuela
• Serrania de la Neblina National Park (1,360,000 ha) (in range)
• Parima Tapirapecó National Park (3,420,000 ha) (in range)
• Jauá-Sarisarinama National Park (330,000 ha) (in range)
• Yapacana National Park (320,000 ha) (in range)