The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is distributed throughout most of Australia including Tasmania and in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in a large variety of habitats including, forest, woodlands, scrublands and gardens.

The race in most of mainland Australia is the sub-species C. n. melanops (photos 3 to 7) which is a paler grey above and below and has a proportionately longer bill.