Deforestation and forest degradation are the most likely threats within the range of the Albertine owlet. The forest in the Itombwe Mountains and Kahuzi-Biéga National Park is under increasing pressure from agricultural clearance and grazing, timber cutting, mining and hunting. The range lies within a conflict ridden region with thousand of refugees in camps but this also seems to have resulted in outward emigration, leaving areas depopulated as well. More needs to be known about the biology and status of this taxon.