Over exploitation for food, oil and the wildlife trade has threatened Testudo gracea. Habitat disturbance especially of nesting sites is a significant threat, as is predation by dogs.
The distribution of Testudo gracea includes; Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.
Other names for Testudo gracea include; Moorish Tortoise, Common Tortoise and Greek Tortoise.
Testudo gracea is considered by the IUCN as "Vulnerable". CITES lists the species as "Appendix 2".