Eastern Brazil (southern from southern Bahia and eastern Goiás) south to eastern Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina (Misiones, Corrientes) and Rio Grande do Sul.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Robust Woodpecker (Campephilus robustus) [XC504821]
by Fernando Igor de Godoy from Ja\u00fa, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil (alarm call)
Robust Woodpecker (Campephilus robustus) [XC330818]
by Roberto Buss Stringari from Sao Francisco de Paula National Forest, Brazil (call)
Subspecies
Formerly placed in genus Phloeoceastes with seven other species, all of which are now lumped into Campephilus. Size of present species increases slightly from north to south, but insufficient to warrant separation of any geographical subspecies.