Chhotanagpur Plateau is a distinct biogeographic zone between the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Mahanadi River Basin in the eastern part of India, where no prior orchid studies have been conducted in past. Inventorisation and ecological studies were conducted to identify the species and understand their distribution pattern accross various forested habitats in the region. Modified adaptive cluster sampling technique (a technique which was earlier used for amphibian surveys) was used for the ecological study of rare orchids in this landscape. Sampling was carried out in 10 m radius plots that were laid on the first orchid encountered. Total count of orchid and tree species within the plot was recorded. Data on ecological parameters such as temperature, altitude, canopy cover, herbaceous ground cover and host species were recorded. Four random plots of same size were laid adjacent to the orchid plot and similar parameters were documented. Habitat types were categorised based on the Importance Value Index (IVI) of tree species. Abundance of orchids across these habitats was studied. Data were analyzed using statistical packages like Biodiversity Pro, EstimateS, PCord and SPSS. Five major habitat types (Shorea, Shorea dominant, Shorea-Diospyros, Shorea-Terminalia and Shorea-Madhuca) were identified and distribution patterns of 70 orchid species were studied in these habitats. Observed and estimated orchid species richness and, α and β diversity were high in case of Shorea dominated forests whereas least diversity was seen in pure Shorea forests, based on Jackknife-I and k-dominance plots. Based on nine microhabitat variables, habitat-heterogeneity was observed using boxplots. Both species abundance and species richness were positively correlated with the altitude. Species abundance was found to be highest between 300–500 m asl whereas the species richness was found to be highest between 500–700 m asl. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was performed to understand the species-environment correlation which was found to be highly significant. It was also observed that Shorea dominant habitat has the most diverse environmental conditions and one of the main reasons attributed to this could be the fact that this habitat occurs at wide elevational range. Shorea-Madhuca habitat had restricted environmental condition and even this kind of habitat is very rare as per observations.