[8] Native to southern China, it has been naturalized in Spain, Italy, Algeria, Canary Islands, New Zealand, Lesotho, South Africa, Japan, Korea, Australia, Norfolk Island, Chiapas, Central America, Argentina, Uruguay, and the southern United States (California, Arizona, Maryland, and the southeast from Texas to North Carolina)[9][10] and also in a small UK village called Lidlington.

It is also one of several species of privet used as dense, evergreen hedges, which can be trained to a specific size and shape by regular pruning.

[8] Ligustrum lucidum[3] and the variegated cultivar 'Excelsum Superbum'[11] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

It is classed as a noxious weed in New South Wales, Australia,[2] and is similarly listed in New Zealand's National Pest Plant Accord.

The seeds are known as nu zhen zi (female chastity seed/berry) in traditional Chinese medicine and are believed to nourish liver and kidney yin and jing in the treatment of tinnitus (ringing in the ears), vertigo (dizziness), premature graying of the hair, and soreness/weakness of the lower back and knees.