It is found only in restricted areas of mountain–top cloud forest habitats within the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site.

The species was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1887 who gave it the specific epithet lochae in honour of Lady Loch, a patron of horticulture in Australia and wife of the Governor of Victoria.

The type specimen was collected by William A. Sayer and A. Davidson who came across the species while ascending Mount Bellenden Ker.

Forms with a straight corolla tube that were previously included within the species were reclassified by Craven in 2002 as R. viriosum.

Rhododendron lochiae occurs in cloud forests on mountain tops in the World Heritage Wet Tropics of north eastern Queensland.