The lesser mouse-deer is found widely across Southeast Asia in Indochina, Myanmar (Kra Isthmus), Brunei, Cambodia, China (Southern Yunnan), Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra and many other small islands), Laos, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and many other small islands), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It is one of the smallest known hoofed mammals, its mature size being as little as 45 cm (18 inches) and 2 kg (4.4 lb) and related to the even smaller Java mouse-deer.

In Indonesian and Malaysian folklore, the mouse-deer Sang Kancil is a cunning trickster similar to Br'er Rabbit from the Uncle Remus tales, even sharing some story plots.

For instance, they both trick enemies pretending to be dead or inanimate,[2][3] and both lose a race to slower opponents.

Reproductive characteristics of female lesser mouse deer (tragulus javanicus) based on fecal progestogens and breeding records.