Highly abundant, the brown roll-rim is found across the Northern Hemisphere, Europe and Asia, with records from India, China, Japan, Iran, and Turkey's eastern Anatolia. It is equally widely distributed across northern North America, extending north to Alaska, where it has been collected from tundra near Coldfoot in the interior of the state. In southwestern Greenland, "P. involutus" has been recorded under the birch species "Betula nana", "B. pubescens" and "B. glandulosa". The mushroom is more common in coniferous woods in Europe, but is also closely associated with birch ("Betula pendula"). Within woodland, it prefers wet places or boggy ground, and avoids calcareous (chalky) soils. It has been noted to grow alongside "Boletus badius" in Europe, and "Leccinum scabrum" and "Lactarius plumbeus" in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. There it is found in both deciduous and coniferous woodland, commonly under plantings of white birch ("Betula papyrifera") in urban areas. It is one of a small number of fungal species which thrive in "Pinus radiata" plantations planted outside their natural range. A study of polluted Scots pine forest around Oulu in northern Finland found that "P. involutus" became more abundant in more polluted areas while other species declined. Emissions from pulp mills, fertiliser, heating and traffic were responsible for the pollution, which was measured by sulfur levels in the pine needles.