The Montane Foliage-gleaner is distributed in the Andes of Colombia (including the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta), Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. See the distribution map at Natureserve.

It is found in humid, montane forest at between 900 and 2,300 metres.

It has a conspicuous buffy-white eyering with a line behind the eye giving it a spectacled look. There are 6 sub-species most of which show streaking on the breast but in Venezuela and Colombia, including the sub-species restricted to Santa Marta, A. s. anxia, there is little or no breast streaking.

The call is a sharp squeak.