The species is known only from a single colony collected in the subtropical mixed evergreen broad-leaved forest of the Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, southeast China.

The type series was collected in a single pitfall trap in a secondary mixed evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Possible prey species of the genera Prenolepis and Nylanderia are common at the type locality.

[1] The species is probably most closely related to A. vieti, known from North Vietnam and Taiwan.

[1] In addition to having the pronotum and petiole completely finely reticulate, Aenictus gutianshanensis can be easily distinguished from Aenictus vieti and Aenictus camposi by the following characters (characters for Aenictus vieti and Aenictus camposi are given in brackets): ventral margin of subpetiolar process almost straight (ventral margin convex), femora densely punctate (smooth and shiny in Jaitrong et al. 2010, but superficially and irregularly sculptured and shiny in two paratypes examined by the reviewer), postpetiolar process more developed with a rim below (less developed, without ventral rim), and longest standing hairs on pronotal dorsum distinctly longer (maximal 0.13 mm).