A labyrinth fish native to Far Eastern Asia, the fish inhabits freshwater systems from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the west, to Southern China in the east, and to Southeast Asia west of the Wallace Line in the south.

[2] Outside its native ranges, it is an invasive species that can live without water for 6–10 hours[3] and move on land by crawling/wriggling the body with its pectoral fins.

The fish has been established in some islands east of the Wallace Line, in eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and is also believed to be advancing toward Northern Australia.

[2] In Thailand, the climbing perch can be found throughout every region and every type of water resource, it is normally consumed as food.

Because its common name in Thai is pla mo (ปลาหมอ, pronounced [plāː mɔ̌ː]), literally translated as "physician fish".