The great tit is common throughout Europe, western, central and northern Asia and parts of North Africa. It occurs in all types of forest landscapes and is usually a stationary bird.

In an emergency, the great tit is very inventive in finding new food sources and is also very adaptive. A well-known example of this is the opening of foil caps on milk bottles in Great Britain - a behavior that quickly spread to some parts of the country. In exceptional cases, such as particularly cold winters, the great tit also kills smaller birds or other vertebrates such as hibernating bats.

In the past, the great tit was sometimes associated with bad luck in Sweden, especially in northern Sweden. One reason for this is that the great tit sings in early spring (PIP), a time of year that often meant difficulties with little food and fodder in rural areas.