Atractylodes lancea, an authentic medicinal herb indigenous to the Northeastern China, has experienced a significant surge in market demand, accompanied by a strong inclination among the populace towards cultivating it. However, the artificial cultivation of A. lancea has chaotic provenance, low survival rate, and uneven yield and quality. The important reason is the lack of scientific understanding of the suitable environmental conditions of A. lancea. This paper uses the Maxent model and Geographic Information System (GIS) to evaluate and classify the habitat suitability of A. lancea based on the data encompassing the natural distribution points of the herb in the northeastern region and relevant environmental variables. The results show that A. lancea is mainly grown in the mountains of western Liaoning, Xiaoxing'an Mountains, Changbai Mountain and their secondary mountain ranges. The suitable habitat area (P ＞ 0.5) spans approximately 109600 km², accounting for 8.84% of the total land area in the northeastern region. Among the various environmental factors examined, six principal contributors (Contribution Rate) are identified, namely mean annual precipitation (26.5%), mean temperature of warmest quarter (18.6%), precipitation seasonality (16.6%), elevation (12.2%), annual mean temperature (11.0%), and precipitation of the coldest quarter (5.2%). Cumulatively, these factors account for over 90% of the observed influence, with water availability (annual precipitation and precipitation seasonality) exerting a more pronounced impact on A. lancea distribution than temperature (mean temperature of warmest quarter and annual mean temperature). According to the analysis of the main suitable habitat areas of A. lancea, ithas formed two climate ecotypes in the Northeast China, namely the drought-tolerant type in western Liaoning and the cold-tolerant type in Changbai Mountain. In summary, in the process of developing the A. lancea planting industry, in addition to paying attention to the ecological suitability zoning of A. lancea, the ecological needs of provenances in different regions should also be fully considered to avoid planting losses caused by blind introduction.