This species is listed as Least Concern, as it has been evaluated against all the IUCN criteria and does not meet, nor is it close to meeting (e.g. populations have not been declining by more than 25% in the past 10 years), the thresholds for any category of threat.

This is a Central and East European species. It occurs from east and central France (Cher and Allier to Ardennes and Savoie) via the southeast of Belgium, north of Germany and of Poland eastwards. It is also found from the north of Italy via the Balkans to the north of Greece and the area in between. Above 400 m in the Ardennes, up to 2,200 m in the Alps. It is also present in Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the Urals and S Siberia, the north of China and the north of Mongolia. The global distribution area of the species is situated both within and outside Europe.

This is a widespread species in its European range, but in some regions it is very local and restricted to (semi-) natural habitats. It is reported extinct in Belarus and Turkey (European part). Strong decline in distribution or population size of more than 30% have been reported from Luxembourg and Romania. Decline in distribution or population size of 6-30% have been reported from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland (data provided by the national partners of Butterfly Conservation Europe).

The Woodland Ringlet occurs in many different biotopes. It can be found on damp, flower-rich grasslands and rough vegetation near or in woodland, in marshes, but also on calcareous grasslands. Its foodplants are various grasses, such as Purple Moor-grass (Molinea caerulea), fescues (Festuca spp.), Tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum), Upright Brome (Bromus erectus) and Wood Millet (Milium effusum) and also sedges (Carex spp.). The caterpillar is active at night and mostly hibernates when half-grown, but at very high altitudes it may hibernate twice. It pupates in the litter layer and usually has one generation a year. However, the development from egg to butterfly may take one or two years. Habitats: coniferous woodland (16%), mixed woodland (16%), mesophile grasslands (14%), dry calcareous grasslands and steppes (11%), alpine and subalpine grasslands (11%), humid grasslands and tall herb communities (9%), broad-leaved deciduous forests (6%).

Although this species shows a decline in a part of its European range, it is not believed to face major threats at the European scale.

This species occurs in a number of protected areas across its range. No specific conservation actions are needed at the European level, but in countries where the species is declining, important habitats should be protected and managed. The effects of conservation actions should be monitored by a Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.