The Black-chinned Mountain-tanager is distributed on the western slope of the Andes from central Colombia to northern Ecuador. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in the canopy and borders of wet, mossy forest at between 900 and 2,200 metres.

There is a small yellow stripe in the black crown and the back and rump are yellow-olive. Underparts are orange-yellow and the chin is black as its English name suggests.