Native to the mountainous forests of Western and Central China. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, "with golden crest", and pictus is Latin for "painted" from pingere, "to paint". Due to ongoing habitat loss, and overhunting for food and its tail plumes, the Golden pheasant is evaluated as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
 
The Golden Pheasant’s preferred habitats are dense forests and woodlands and sparse undergrowth during the day and roost in very high trees during the night. Golden Pheasants are very timid birds. While they can fly clumsily in short bursts, they prefer to run and spend most of their time on the ground. If startled, they can suddenly burst upwards at great speed and with a distinctive wing sound.
 
They feed on the ground on grain, leaves and invertebrates, but they roost in trees at night. During winter, flocks tend to forage close to human settlements at the edge of forest, taking primarily wheat leaves and seeds.
 
Golden pheasants lay 8 to 12 eggs at a time and will then incubate these for around 22–23 days. The male has a metallic call during the breeding season.
 
They tend to eat berries, grubs, seeds and other types of vegetation.