The yellow-edged lyretail is has an Indo-Pacific distribution and is found from the east coast of Africa where it occurs from Durban in South Africa to the Red Sea through the tropical Indian Ocean east into the Pacific Ocean where it occurs as far north as southern Japan, south to Australia and east to the Pitcairn Islands.
This species of fish is found in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to southern Japan, Australia, and the Pitcairn Islands, with a presence along the way in South Africa and the Red Sea.