The main threats faced by these monkeys are habitat loss and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as "critically endangered".

[5] The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey commonly lives in an extended family group that includes an adult male and several females, and their offspring.

[6] Today, its populations can be found in small areas within Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, Ha Giang, and Thai Nguyen provinces.

[6] The largest known population of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey exists in the Khau Ca Species and Habitat Conservation Area, located in the Ha Giang province.

[13] Habitat loss and hunting are some of the major causes for declines of naturally occurring populations of non-human primates, including the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey.

Decades of expanding human population and increasing demands for scarce agriculturally viable lands have led to the loss and fragmentation of the monkey's habitats.

Their habitats are suffering due to growing numbers of illegal logging in the forests, which restrict the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys' actions as they live on the trees, and the occasional mining which causes polluted air and detrimental change in the environment for them.

[11] Heavy poaching for food as well as the wildlife black market and the destruction of habitat are also the main reasons why the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is considered one of the planet's most critically endangered primate species.

[14] In 1993, hunting and wildlife trapping were widespread through the Na Hang Nature Reserve, with ethnic groups harvesting many species including the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey.

[9] The wildlife poaching was alerted to the Na Hang District People's Committee, which succeeded in curbing the hunting and trapping activities throughout the reserve.

The primate was thought to be extinct until the 1990s, when a small population was discovered in Na Hang District in Tuyên Quang Province of Vietnam.

[14] In December 2013, Fauna & Flora International released the result of a population survey conducted between September and October of that year in the Khau Ca Species and Habitat Conservation Area, Ha Giang province, Vietnam.

The latest survey, as of November 2017, carried out by Fauna & Flora international in Khau Ca forest in April 2017 recorded at least 113–121 individuals making this area home to the largest known population of Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys.

In order to protect the two largest known populations, located in Khau Ca in Vietnam and in a forest fragment near the border of China, Fauna & Flora International has been working with local communities to spread awareness about the species and monitor its habitat.

[4] Vietnamese authorities were also brought on to the plan to ensure that the Khau Ca forest was formally protected, with population size increasing and stabilizing since these efforts have been made.

Conservationists know that if locals continue to struggle to earn a living, it will cause their socioeconomic standards to remain low and awareness and education about the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey will have no effect on its conservation status.