Northern bettongs are generally solitary animals, and are active only at night.
Nesting material is carried using their prehensile tail. These are dug from beneath the soil at the bases of trees, and work to date suggests that substantial nightly movements are often required to detect this patchily distributed food source. Other foods in the diet include grass roots and tubers, lilies, herbs and sedges. It is presently known only from three small isolated populations in far north Queensland, all within 80 km of one other. Reasons for its endangered species status include this restricted geographical distribution, recent contractions in the historical distribution, as well as overall low population densities and the potential threat imposed by feral cats and foxes.