The striated wrasse has a wide distribution in the Indian Ocean and in the Western Pacific Ocean from Africa to Hawaii. In the western Indian Ocean its range extends from the Red Sea off Jordan to South Africa, and it has been recorded from the Seychelles, Aldabra, Réunion, Mozambique and Pemba in Tanzania. In the Pacific Ocean it is found from the Izu Islands in Japan in the north and from Australia to Hawaii in the east and the Marquesas Islands in the south.
