Rosa laevigata, being the only species in the Rosa genus within the Rosaceae family, possesses significant nutritional and medicinal value. Moreover, it exhibits a vast genetic diversity, particularly among wild populations. Such abundant genetic variability provides favorable conditions for the cultivation, development, and utilization of superior Rosa laevigata varieties in China. In this research, 265 records of geographic distribution and 47 environmental variables were collected. These data were then combined with the future climate predictions generated by the general circulation model (GFDL-ESM4) and three Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP1_RCP2.6, SSP3_RCP7.0, SSP5_RCP8.5) to forecast the current and future geographical distribution of Rosa laevigata. The results indicate a consistently high yield of Rosa laevigata in China, both presently and in the future. The optimal parameter combination, determined by using the corrected Akaike Information Criterion as the index, was selected as the feature class LQ with a regularized multiplier of 1.0. According to these findings, Rosa laevigata is currently distributed across the southern provinces of China, with Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi being the most suitable regions. Furthermore, compared to the current climatic conditions, the growing area of Rosa laevigata is expected to expand in the future. This expansion primarily occurs in a north-western direction, resulting in an overall increase in the plant’s distribution area. Notably, Qinghai experienced a reduction in its low-impact zone area. Several variables such as annual potential evapotranspiration (annualPET), isothermality (Bio3), mean daily maximum air temperature of the warmest month (Bio5), precipitation seasonality (Bio15), and snow cover days (scd), among others, greatly influence the potential distribution of Rosa laevigata.