It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, also Thailand.

[5] Aquilaria malaccensis is the major source[6] of agarwood, a resinous heartwood, used for perfume and incense.

[2] The resin is produced by the tree in response to infection by a parasitic ascomycetous mould, Phaeoacremonium parasitica,[7] a dematiaceous (dark-walled) fungus.

Due to rising demand for agarwood, as well as shortcomings in monitoring harvests and an increasing illegal trade, A. malaccensis is on the brink of extinction in the wild and is now considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Due to this, conservation plans have been set in place to raise agarwood in contaminated areas as well as homestead gardens.