This cosmopolitan, scansorial, nocturnal gecko has been found on a wide variety of substrates in a number of microhabitats including tree trunks, root tangles, branches, leaves, rock faces, cement drainages, houses, beneath debris on beaches, and within rock cracks. It occurs in all forest and plantation types, including palm oil plantations, and most disturbed habitats up to 1,400 m asl, being common in buildings. It feeds on isopods, small insects and termites. It seems to reproduce relatively late in the year, and females have been observed carrying two eggs (1-3 according to Yang and Rao 2008) (Grismer 2011).

This is a tropical gecko occurring from Madagascar (introduced) to eastern China (Lever 2003, Kraus 2009, Chan-ard et al. 2015) and has been reported from tropical islands and the coastlines throughout this region. Low levels of genetic variation between Indian Ocean island populations suggest that the species is a recent colonist in this part of its range, probably as a result of human-mediated dispersal (Rocha et al. 2009). This species is also believed to be  present in the Solomon Islands as a recent introduction (M. McCoy pers. comm. 2011). It occurs at elevations between sea level up to 1,400 m asl (Grismer et al. 2011a). It also occurs in the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, although further studies are needed to clarify whether this represents natural dispersal or an exotic introduction (Ota 2004). This species has been introduced on Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands of Australia (Cogger 2014). In India, this species is known from the Andaman and Nicobar islands (Smith 1941) and on the mainland based on a historic record from Kochi, Kerala (Smith 1935). Recently, it has been reported from the vicinity of Ponmudi in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala where it was observed to be common and commensal with humans (Chandramouli and Ganesh 2010). It has also been recorded from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh (Das 1998).  Nicobar Islands (Kondul, Nancowry, Camorta, Trinkat, Katchall, Tarasa, Chowra) (Vijayakumar 2005). In Southeast Asia, it is widely distributed throughout Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. It occurs up to at least 1,135 m asl. In China, it is distributed in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan, and Taiwan Provinces at around 600 m asl. (Yang and Rao 2008), and has also recently been recorded from Guangxi (Cai et al. unpubl. data 2015).

There are no known species-specific conservation measures in place for this species. It has been recorded from multiple protected areas. In China, this species is listed in the "List of Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Value Terrestrial Wild Animals under States Protection", under the protection of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife" (B. Cai pers. comm. 2018).