It was described by two German naturalists, Alexander Keyserling and Johann Heinrich Blasius, and named by them after Hermann von Nathusius, in gratitude for his support of their research.

Nathusius' pipistrelle occurs from Western Europe eastward as far as the Ural Mountains, Turkey and the Caucasus.

In Ireland and Britain it was previously thought to be a vagrant with only a handful of records including several from oil rigs in the North Sea.

[3] Threats to the species include the loss of hollow trees and toxic chemicals from the treatment of timber in buildings.

It emerges early to hunt, flying in straight lines with rapid, deep wingbeats at around 3 to 15 metres above the ground.