The species is endemic to northeastern South America, as well as to the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The specific name, borckiana, is in honor of Johann Graf von Borcke (1781–1862), a major in the Prussian Army who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.

[2] A population of lizards on Trinidad was originally thought to be K. borckiana, but has since been identified as Kentropyx striata.

Kentropyx borckiana is found in Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, and on Barbados; its native status in the latter is unknown.

Its dorsal surface is gray to pinkish-brown, with light lateral stripes bordered with dark bands.