Quercus hartwissiana is found in the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion, in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome along the Black Sea from the south-easternmost parts of the Balkan Peninsula along northern Asia Minor to western Caucasus. It grows in Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia and Russia. In Bulgaria Quercus hartwissiana grows in Strandzha Nature Park and is distributed in the dense forest ecotype and the karst or xelophilous ecotype. In Strandzha it grows near river valleys, especially those of Veleka and Rezovo. There it is mixed with Carpinus betulus, Fagus orientalis, Sorbus torminalis, Quercus pubescens, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Carpinus orientalis and the shrubs Cistus creticus and Daphne pontica.