Occurs along the coast to São Paulo, and oceanic islands, Atol das Rocas, Fernando de Noronha, St. Paul’s Rocks, and Trindade. This species often schools with C. jubauna on coastal reefs, but it is the only mesophotic Chromis recorded in Brazilian oceanic islands. In areas of colder water in southeastern Brazil (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states) they are seen in depths as shallow as 10 m (Ref. 123501).