It is native to several Greek islands, Turkey, Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Lebanon and southwestern parts of the Russian Federation.

The ring-headed dwarf snake is a pencil-thin species that grows to a maximum length of 60 cm (24 in) but most adults are considerably smaller than this.

The top of the head has a large black blotch inside which are either two whitish spots or a pale W-shaped mark.

[3] The ring-headed dwarf snake is native to the Greek Mediterranean islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Fournoi, Kasos, Karpathos, Kalymnos, Leros, Symi and Megisti and most of Turkey.

It seems to be an adaptable species able to tolerate a range of different habitat types, and no particular threats have been identified and for these reasons, the IUCN has listed it as being of "Least Concern".