First described in 1871, the genus currently contains at least 39 species that inhabit mountainous forest areas across the monsoon climate zones of Asia. These species are distributed throughout Asia, from the eastern Himalayas, eastern Nepal, northern India, Bhutan, Myanmar, central to southern China, and southward through Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Tylototriton ngoclinhensis is limited to the evergreen mountain forests near water bodies in Mount Ngoc Linh in the province of Kon Tum, Vietnam. This is the first time the crocodile newt species has been recorded originating from the Central Highlands of Vietnam. "This animal has an elevation of over 1,800 m, and this discovery breaks the altitude record for the genus in this country, with its previous range scattered between 250 m," said Phung.