Self-heal grows in lawns, meadows, woodland edges, roadsides and disturbed ground across temperate regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. VASCAN treats the species as native across most of Canada, with two varieties, var. lanceolata and var. vulgaris, recognized; some sources consider the plant Eurasian in origin but widely distributed in North America before European contact. It spreads by creeping stems and thrives in moist, slightly acidic soils.
The genus name is linked to the German word for diphtheria, a disease the plant was once used against in Europe, and vulgaris means common. The plant has many old names tied to those traditional uses, including self-heal, heal-all and woundwort. It has also spread to Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, where it is weedy.