This species is endemic to the lower and middle Mekong basin in Indochina.

Datnioides undecimradiatus was first formally described as Coius undecimradiatus in 1994 by the ichthyologists Tyson R. Roberts and Maurice Kottelat with its type locality given as the Mekong River, a few kilometres downstream from the Lee Pee (or Khone) waterfalls in Laos.

[2] Datnioides undecimradiatus is endemic to the lower Mekong Basin of Mainland Southeast Asia and is found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Almost all the fish in the aquarium trade are wild caught juveniles,[1] although Indonesian aquarists may have successfully bred this species in captivity.

[9] The Mekong tiger perch has been overexploited within its range, especially in Thailand, and the population ha significantly declined leading the IUCN to assess its status as Vulnerable.