Harpalus smaragdinus is a species of ground beetle native to the Palearctic (including Europe), and the Near East. In Europe, it is only absent in the following countries or islands: Andorra, the Azores, Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Corsica, Crete, Cyclades, Dodecanese, the Faroe Islands, Franz Josef Land, Gibraltar, Iceland, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, the North Aegean islands, Novaya Zemlya, Portugal, San Marino, Sardinia, the Savage Islands, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sicily, and Vatican City. Its presence on the island of Cyprus is doubtful. It is also found in such Asian countries as Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Chinese province of Xinjiang, and all of the Central Asian republics, except for Azerbaijan.