Ranges from Central and South America, from Central Mexico to northern Argentina and Paraguay, but also in Trinidad and Tobago. In Suriname a raptor of the interior, but no breeding records exist.

Ornate Hawk Eagles live in tropical forests and adjacent open lands, from lowland swamps to up to 2000 to 3000 meter.

During courtship display, pair glides together, performing flight displays, and then, while female is perched, male performs circles with shallow dives high in the air, alternately diving and rising again, with an angle of 45 degrees, calling the female. It dives down with half folded wings, on a short distance, repeating indefinitely the process. Male may perform looping movements, and sometimes complete loop. At this time, it becomes very noisy, and utters loud calls and musical notes. During these displays, male shows its conspicuous chestnut colour on the sides of the neck. Pair may touch talons in flight, as female turns on her back.
Ornate Hawk Eagle's nest is located high in a small tree, generally in a fork. It is very bulky, made with sticks. Female lays one single egg. Incubation lasts about 44 to 48 days, by female. While chick is at nest, female feeds it, with food brought by the male, within few hundred feet of the nest. Male gives the food to the female, but it doesn't feed the chick directly. When young is able to defend itself, both parents hunt for it. When the young has fledged, 10 to 13 weeks after hatching, male appears to provide for the young bird. It will be fed by both parents for up to one year after fledging. This species probably breeds only every third years.

The Ornate Hawk Eagle hunts from a perch, within the forest or at the edge. Prey is taken on ground, snatched from a branch, or taken in flight. This raptor often hunts with stealth and ambush style, moving inconspicuously from perch to perch. Feeds on small mammals such as squirrels, medium-sized birds such as Little blue Herons, chickens, parrots, and sometimes reptiles.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 9,500,000 km². It has a large global population estimated to be 10,000-100,000 individuals (Ferguson-Lees et al. 2001). Global population trends have not been quantified, 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.

Sedentary in all of its range.