Endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Central America, it is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

American ornithologist Samuel Cabot III described the rose-throated tanager in 1846, having seen a pair in the Yucatán Peninsula and shooting the male.

[4] A 2019 genetic study using mitochondrial DNA showed that it was a basal (early offshoot) of a lineage that gave rise to the scarlet, hepatic, summer, western and flame-colored tanagers.

The nominate male's crown and throat are deep rose and the rest of the body shades of gray.

[3] The nominate rose-throated tanager is found in the northern, drier, part of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

[1] "Although portions of the area within its range are subject to considerable human-caused environmental pressures, the species does not appear to be at any immediate risk.