The Pearled Treerunner is distributed in the Andes from Venezuela through to Bolivia. It is found in high elevation montane and elfin forest as well as Polylepis woodland. It is most often at between 2,100 and 3,700 metres on trees covered in moss and epiphytes. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

They forage acrobatically for arthropods often hanging upside down and acting like a small woodcreeper.