The validity of subspecies described from western Siberia and the Altai region, Elaphe dione niger Golubeva, 1923 and E. d. tenebrosa Sobolevsky, 1929, is not widely accepted and the species is considered to be monotypic by Geniez (2018).

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Recorded

Within the European region, this species is known from eastern Ukraine and southern parts of European Russia. The species assessed as Least Concern for Europe due to its extremely wide range in European Russia and eastern Ukraine (approximately 850,000 km²), because no major widespread threats have been identified appear to exist to this adaptable species in this region and it is believed to occur as a stable but low-density population across much of this region. It does not occur in the EU 27 Member States.

Within the European region, this species is only known from eastern Ukraine and southern parts of European Russia. The Ukrainian range appears to be unclear: Geniez (2018) limits its distribution to extreme eastern Ukraine, while Speybroeck et al. (2016) show it occurring along the southern coast of Ukraine almost as far as the Kazhyns'ka Gulf. In Ukraine, it is a lowland species (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

In the European part of Russia, the northern boundary of the distribution runs in the Volga region through the territory of the Samara, Saratov and Ulyanovsk regions and was limited by the floodplain of the Volgograd and Saratov reservoirs and the adjacent landscapes of the Volga Upland (on the right bank) and the Low Syrtovaya Plain (on the left bank) (I.V. Doronin pers. comm. October 2022), and isolated subpopulations are found here (Tabachishina et al. 2005).

Globally, this is an exceptionally widespread snake species which ranges through much of temperate Eurasia, with a distribution extending eastward from its European range through parts of the Caucasus to Middle and Central Asia (excluding sand deserts; Ananjeva et al. 2006), and from here through southern Russia to the Far East District, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China, and throughout the Korean Peninsula. There is an isolated Iranian subpopulation in Mazandaran and Seman Provinces (Latifi 1991). In China, the snake occurs southward to Sichuan in the west and Jiangsu in the east (Zhao and Adler 1993), however, its range limits are unclear due to confusion with the similar Chinese leopard snake in this country and potentially the existence of a hybrid zone between the two (Messenger 2021). Messenger (2021) suggests that it is likely to be restricted to areas north of the Yangtze River, and that it is therefore absent from Anhui and from southern areas of Jiangsu and Sichuan. It has been recorded between sea level and 3,580 m asl globally and is known from 30-1,800 m asl in China (Zhao 2006).

This is one of the commonest snakes in some parts of Russia (Kotenko 2006), but it is not common and is universally recognised as 'rare' in the European part of Russia (I.V. Doronin pers. comm. October 2022). It is one of the rarest species in Ukraine, where its range is restricted (Kotenko 2006), and the extinction of subpopulations on the eastern border of the range in Ukraine has been recorded (I.V. Doronin pers. comm. October 2022). The overall population trend in the European region is not known. Across a large part of the Volga region, within the Saratov, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions, the species is represented by stable local subpopulations, but the abundance is low everywhere and the population trend is not known (Tabachishina et al. 2005).

Outside of the European region, in Ciscaucasia, densities range from 0.001 to 3.5 individuals /ha, with the highest densities being recorded in sagebrush-grassland steppe near Lake Lyman (Doronin 2013a,b). Development in this region has resulted in declines and apparently in the loss of subpopulations: the species was recorded to be common in Sengileyevskaya Hollow in 1924 (two to five individuals per linear kilometre) but is no longer found in this area (Doronin 2013a,b).

This snake lives in plains, hills and mountainous areas. Its habitat tolerances are extremely broad, and it can be found in evergreen or deciduous broadleaved forest, meadows, wetlands (including salt marshes and takyrs), steppes, deserts, fields, marshes, vineyards, rice fields, rocky mountain slopes, and disturbed areas such as the sides of trails. In Ukraine, the species is associated with steppes on loamy or sandy soil, particularly around small streams or temporary ponds, and can be found in arable land, gardens and open forest (Speybroeck et al. 2016). Females lay 3-24 eggs; in Ukraine, mating takes place by the end of April (and in April-May in Russia) and eggs are laid by the end of June, usually on the forest floor or in vegetation debris (such as rotten grass or the remains of deadwood) near water bodies, and may be communal (Speybroeck et al. 2016, Geniez 2018, I.V. Doronin pers. comm. 2022). Incubation lasts up to about a month. In European Russia the species hibernates from September-November to March-April (and as early as February in the south of the range) (I.V. Doronin pers. comm. October 2022).

No major threats to this very widespread, common snake exist. In some regions, this species is often killed by people because the snake resembles venomous species, but it is not known if this is a widespread practice within the European region. Localised threats may exist from general habitat loss and degradation (e.g. for example, in Ciscaucasia, out of the European Red List region - Doronin 2013a,b) and water pollution, but are not thought to be significant within the European region.

In Russia, the species is traded and often kept in terrariums.

In view of its wide European range, the snake is likely to occur in many protected areas. No direct conservation measures are currently needed for this species as a whole. It is protected on the territory of at least 40 reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in European Russia (I.V. Doronin pers. comm. October 2022).

It has a proposed status of "In danger of extinction" in Ukraine, however Kotenko (2006) notes that this listing refers to species that are rare and localized in this country, and that no Ukrainian reptiles are in any real danger of extinction. The species is listed in Europe's Bern Convention (Ananjeva et al. 2006).