The Fulvous-dotted Treehunter is distributed on the Pacific slope of the western cordillera of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. See the distribution map at NatureServe. It is found at between 1,200 and 2,200 metres in forest covered in moss and epiphytes.

Like most furnarids it is rich chestnut brown but has a contrasting white throat and small white dots edged with black on the breast.