Its natural range is the western Indian Ocean but it is also one of the species which has colonised the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal by Lessepsian migration from the Red Sea.

[4][5] Stephanolepis diaspros occurs in the western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea south to the Horn of Africa, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf.

Algae, echinoderms, coelenterates and fish remains were also found in the stomach contents of examined specimens while sponges, hydrozoans, foraminifera and Bryozoa were also preyed on.

[10] Stephanolepsis diaspros is not an important commercial species in the Mediterranean basin because of its relatively small size and, in some places, it is viewed as a pest to the fishery and any specimens caught are discarded.

[9] In the Gulf of Suez any specimens caught by fishermen were discarded up to the 1990s but it has become an important commercial species since the mid 1990s and there are indications that the stock is being overfished.