There are no records of hunting methods. The male does all the hunting during breeding and usually brings one large prey item per night. Males often become more noisy at the start of the season, giving frequent 'bomb whistles'. The male feeds the female in the hollow, engaging her with soft, high-pitched trilling before passing over the prey. There are a few records of nesting in caves.
Females occupy the hollow for many weeks before laying, flying out only briefly during night.
A female in a cave nest site rarely leaves at all. Incubation is around 42 days. The young are covered in sooty grey down and are fledged in about 3 months. The newly fledged Sooty Owl is dependent on its parents for up to a month. Deep moist gullies in eucalypt forest, usually with big, old, smooth-barked gums and an understorey of tree ferns and Lilly Pilly.