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 species occurs in large parts of Europe. It is absent from the southern half of Spain, Scotland and the north of England, large parts of Denmark, north and central Norway, northern Sweden and northern Finland. 0-1,500 m. It is furthermore present across the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the Tian-Shan, Siberia to the Amur; Turkey, Iran, China, Korea and Japan. 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 the Netherlands. Decline in distribution or population size of 6-30% have been reported from Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Turkey (European part), Ukraine and United Kingdom (data provided by the national partners of Butterfly Conservation Europe).

The Silver-washed Fritillary is a large, conspicuous butterfly that is often present in large numbers. Needing a lot of nectar, they are often found on thistles at the edge of woodland. They also occur on rough vegetation in woodland clearings. The males have black streaks of scent-scales on their forewings. Unlike other butterflies, the eggs are not laid on the foodplant. Instead, the female deposits them singly on the branches and trunks of trees growing at woodland edges. As soon as they emerge from the egg in the late summer, the tiny caterpillar looks for somewhere to hibernate. In spring it starts looking for violets (Viola spp.), on which it feeds at night, hiding under the leaves of the foodplant during the day. It pupates on a stalk of a violet plant, or in a crevice in the bark of a tree. The Silver-washed Fritillary has one generation a year. The females come in two colour variations, the more usual, orange form and the heavily dusted, dark form valezina. In some populations this form is quite common, but in others very rare. Habitats: broad-leaved deciduous forests (25%), mixed woodland (19%), coniferous woodland (11%), mesophile grasslands (9%), dry calcareous grasslands and steppes (5%), tree lines, hedges, small woods, bocage, parkland dehesa (5%).

This species is not believed to face major threats at the European level.

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.