Historically, African buffalos were found throughout most of subSahara Africa. Today their distribution is considerably reduced and in many areas largely limited to reserves. Their habitat is fragmented in many areas by human activity and their numbers have been hugely reduced since the late 1800s from the introduced rinderpest epidemics, resulting in extirpations. African buffaloes are still distributed throughout Africa, and different portions of their range are occupied by different subspecies. In the past, morphologically diverse populations of Syncerus caffer have been associated with at least 92 scientific names, many of which were considered species, not subspecies. Today we consider the species polytypic, with three to four subspecies commonly recognized.

Syncerus caffer caffer, classic Cape or savannah buffalo, is found in the east and south, starting in southwest Ethiopia and through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi. The distribution is patchier through Angola, Mozambique, and Swaziland. In South Africa they are well distributed, except in the southeast and southwest, where they are absent.

Syncerus caffer nanus, forest buffalo, is found in the rainforests of west and central Africa. Their distribution is split into two main groups. The first is located from south Guinea moving east through Sierra Leone, Liberia, south Ivory Coast and southwest Ghana. The second distribution begins just to the west of the NigeriaCameroon border in south Cameroon, encompassing the area south along the coast including the Republic of the Congo and east, the north half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a piece of southwest Central African Republic. A contact zone occurs with Syncerus caffer caffer on the west end, following the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Syncerus caffer brachyceros is the West Africa savannah buffalo. Its distribution lies just north of Syncerus caffer nanus, starting at south Senegal and north Guinea and continuing through southwest Mali, north Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Benin. Like Syncerus caffer nanus, the distribution is divided. The distribution begins at the NigeriaCameroon border and encompasses north Cameroon and the western edge of the Central African Republic. Along the southern edge of their border, they share a contact zone with Syncerus caffer nanus.