There is little specific information available. The Asian golden cat is widely reported as uncommon and threatened by deforestation. It is hunted for its pelt and bones. Livestock predation, often leads to persecution.
Catopuma temmincki are found in tropical and sub-tropical moist evergreen and dry deciduous forests, from Nepal and northeast India through southeast Asia, southern China, Sumatra and Borneo. They have occasionally been reported from more open habitats, such as shrub and grassland. In the Himalayas, the species has been recorded at elevations up to 3,050m in Sikkim, India.
Other names for Catopuma temmincki include; gato dorado asiatico - Spanish; shonali biral - Bengali: Bangladesh, India; jin mao, huang hu, zhi ma bao - Chinese; kucing emas - Indonesia; sua meo, sua pa - Laos; kucing tulap, harimau anjing - Malaysia; kya min, kyaung min - Myanmar; hso hpai, miao thon - Shan; sua fai (fire tiger) - Thailand.
The IUCN considers Catopuma temmincki as "Lower Risk" sub-category "near threatened". CITES lists the species as "Appendix 1".