It is native to Europe, but in the cooler areas of North America was widely used as a pasture grass until the 1940s.

[3] It can be found in open woodland, rough grassland, hedgerows, roadsides and waste ground, and as a weed on arable land.

This species is similar to Agrostis stolonifera, with the key difference being that the latter has stolons.

However C E Hubbard describes its height as ranging from 10 to 70 centimeters in high, whereas Agrostis gigantea is 40–120 centimetres (16–47 in).

Marjorie Blamey, Richard and Alastair Fitter also describe black bent as being taller.