It is a poorly known and little studied species, although concern over its status and that of the closely related marbled murrelet has led to a recent increase in research.

The Kittlitz's murrelet mostly breeds and lives in the coastal areas of Alaska, both on the mainland around Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, sparsely up the west coast and along the Aleutian Islands.

Until 2014, the Kittlitz's murrelet was considered to be critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), based on dramatic declines at every site studies.

However, in 2014, the IUCN downlisted the murrelet's status from critically endangered to near threatened, as more recent studies indicate that declines appear to be happening at a less rapid rate than was previously thought; some populations appear to be stabilizing or recovering slightly.

It is threatened by habitat loss from global warming (as it is seemingly dependent on retreating glaciers), disturbance by boats and oil spills.