This species was formerly included in the genus Lacerta, but is now included in Iberolacerta, following Carranza et al. (2004), and based on evidence from Arribas (1998, 1999), Carranza et al. (2004), Harris et al. (1998) and Mayer and Arribas (2003).

This European endemic species is assessed as Least Concern on the basis that this species is widespread, its distribution appears to be more continuous than previously recognised, and it appears to be subject to no widespread threats. Research is nonetheless needed to clarify its occurrence in poorly surveyed parts of the lizard's range and to clarify the extent of apparent impacts from climate change. The species is considered at present to be endemic to Europe, though it may be present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This species occurs along the east Adriatic coast, in mountainous areas of southern Austria, northeastern Italy, western Slovenia, Istria and western Croatia to the region of Šibenik (Speybroeck et al. 2016), with a southern known range limit on Dinara Mountain (Žagar et al. 2014). It is very likely that its range extends south into northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Dinaria is about 100 m from the border (M.A. Carretero pers. comm. 2022). Its distribution is more continuous than previously recognised (Rassati 2019, De Marchi et al. 2020), and apparent distribution gaps in the Dinaric Mountains may be the result of limited sampling (Cocca et al. 2021). There are records from 37 10 x 10 km grid cells in northern Italy with new subpopulations still being reported, and it occurs in almost all the main valleys from the Piave east to the Natisone Valleys (Rassati 2019). Several new records between Veneto in the west of the range and the remainder of the distribution suggest that it is likely to occur more widely in this part of the country as well (De Marchi et al. 2020). These authors extended the species' western distribution in Italy to San Lucano Valley but failed to record it further west, suggesting that this is likely to be its genuine western range limit. The species was recorded from southern Germany in error (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It has been recorded from 200 to 2,000 m asl in Italy (Lapini et al. 2004).

Local abundance can be very high (Speybroeck et al. 2016), although in forest, at low elevations and in the south of its range it occurs in low densities (Žagar et al. 2007, 2014; Žagar 2008). It is likely that many of the recently-identified Italian subpopulations are connected to one another as metapopulations, utilising both natural habitats and roads as dispersal corridors (Rassati 2019).

This species is most often found in rocky and humid areas, that are generally poor in vegetation. It can also be found in open beech and coniferous forests or above the tree-line in alpine scrubland. In areas of heterogenous habitat, such as those studied by Rassati (2019), it makes use of shaded areas of shrubland and broadleaf forest even at high elevations, even where apparently more optimal habitat is available. It can colonize anthropogenic habitats with rocky structures, such as bridges, weirs and embankments, as well as rocky pastures (Rassati 2019). It appears to require relatively steep topography, and De Marchi et al. (2020) found that "roughness" of the topography was a major predictor of habitat suitability, along with the presence of sedimentary bedrock (with a preference for carbonites, dolomite and limestone).

It is always found in sheltered places. It is often found quite close to brooks, lakes and waterfalls (Speybroeck et al. 2016). In areas where it co-occurs with the Common Wall Lizard, the species is restricted to cliffs and steep rock faces (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It is an egg-laying species: females lay clutches of 2-5 eggs in rock cracks or beneath rocks, with juveniles emerging in early August.

There appear to be no major threats to this species across its range as a whole, as many of the habitats it uses are subject to little human use and it has a wide elevational range. Subpopulations established around artificial structures may be at risk from maintenance activities or the demolition of bridges or weirs (Rassati 2019). Mechanisation has increased access to previously inaccessible areas for settlements and other land use change, which are likely to encroach into this species' habitat to some degree (Rassati 2019). It was considered to be indirectly impacted by the possible construction of run-of-river small hydropower plants by Crnobrnja-Isailović et al. (2021).

A number of surveys of historical localities have reported only the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) in areas where Hovarth's Rock Lizard used to occur, a pattern likely attributable to competitive displacement or the disruption of metapopulation dynamics due to habitat degradation (Rassati 2019). The major driver is believed to be climate change, which is also likely to increase the incidence of landslides and other extreme events that could destroy or degrade key habitats (Rassatti 2019). Experimental studies suggest that this species is outcompeted in suboptimal habitat (forest, low elevations) by Common Wall Lizards, which compete for similar resources and share parasites (Dajčman et al. 2022, Žagar et al. 2012, 2015a,b,c, 2017, 2018), which might result in declines where the latter species expands into its range.

There is unlikely to be any use of or trade in this species.

The species is listed on Annex II of the Bern Convention and is protected by national legislation in a number of its range states. It is known from several protected areas in all range states (Cocca et al. 2021). It was listed Near Threatened in the Red List of reptiles of Croatia (Jelić et al. 2012). Further general research is needed into the ecology and range of this species. Rassatti (2019) recommends research across the range as a whole to determine whether impacts from climate change are widespread, as well as awareness-raising and inclusion of this species into multi-species conservation planning. Field surveys are needed to confirm the species' occurrence in areas predicted to be suitable by ecological niche modelling (Cocca et al. 2021).