The lesser cane rat is native to Central and East Africa and the more northerly parts of southern Africa. The main parts of its range are southern Sudan, the whole of Uganda, western Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe but it also occurs sporadically in some of the neighbouring countries. It is found in open grassy countryside, the fringes of marshland and in woodland and it has been recorded at an altitude of above sea level in the Rwenzori Mountains. It occupies much the same range as the greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) but that species is more aquatic and frequents river banks and lakesides.