The Steppe Eagle breeds from Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia. The European and Central Asian birds winter in Africa, and the eastern birds in India. It lays 1-3 eggs in a stick nest in a tree.

Steppe and semi-desert. Race nipalensis breeds in mountainous areas, orientalis breeds in lowlands and low hills.

In Russia, eggs laid April-July, mainly late April-May, timing dependent on prey species populations. Timing of arrival in spring and start of breeding highly dependent on availability of chief prey species. On ground, on slight rise like sand-dune, etc., on old haystack, low bush, or ruin; increasingly on cliffs, trees, or electricity poles because of persecution. Nest: large platform of branches, twigs, and bones lined with grass, hair, dung, and pellets, 70-130 cm in diameter. 1-3 eggs, incubation 45 days, Chicks have white down after hatching, later greyish white.

Mainly small to medium-sized rodents, on breeding grounds almost exclusively susliks, and hatching coincides with emergence of their young; in addition hares, reptiles, birds, and young saiga antelopes, also scavenging on dead adults, afterbirths, etc. On migration and in winter quarters commonly gathers in large numbers (particularly immatures) in arable fields to take disturbed vertebrates and large insects, or at other concentrations of prey species, such as termites and queleas, carrion, or refuse, and will gather at carrion on breeding grounds. Frequently forages by walking on ground but also hunts from perch or by soaring, and pirates food from other birds, especially raptors, though to a lesser extent than Tawny Eagle.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 100,000-1,000,000 individuals (Ferguson-Lees et al. 2001). Global population trends have not been quantified; there is evidence of a population decline (Ferguson-Lees et al. 2001), but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Race orientalis completely migratory, leaving breeding areas in late August and Septebmber; avoiding crossing sea, with large concentrations observed in bottleneck areas, e.g. Israel and Suez. Winters in Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, East & South Africa. Race nipalensis less migratory, wintering mostly in South Asia.