South-eastern Brazil (southern Mato Grosso do Sul east to Espíritu Santo, south to Rio Grande do Sul), eastern Paraguay and northern Argentina (Misiones).
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Rufous-crowned Greenlet (Hylophilus poicilotis) [XC727638]
by Felipe Arantes from Itatiaia National Park, Tr\u00eas Picos trail, Itatiaia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (song)
Rufous-crowned Greenlet (Hylophilus poicilotis) [XC211117]
by Jeremy Minns from Ba\u00eda de Guaratuba. Rio S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, Brazil (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Formerly treated as conspecific with Grey-eyed Greenlet (Hylophilus amaurocephalus), with which partly sympatric, but appears to be clearly differentiated by plumage, eye colour, vocalizations and habitat preference. Previously reported hybridization between the two explained as being due to presence of a "residual cline" that reflects geographical variation of the ancestor.