All available information on the distribution and habitat requirements of saproxylic beetle Corticaria bella Redtenbacher in Europe is presented. The first record of C. bella in Finland (new country record) is based on museum specimens. Data on the occurrence of this species in Greece is supplemented based on specimens from a private collection. As a result of our research conducted in 2009–2010, the presence of C. bella in Poland is confirmed after more than 100 years; the species was found at three new sites in the central and eastern parts of the country, in 1001-year-old oak stands. Records of C. bella in Finland and Poland shift the hitherto known distribution of this species toward the northeast. Methods of collection of C. bella and characteristics of the habitats of the species are discussed. Based on available literature, C. bella is considered a very rare and locally occurring species in Europe. It prefers deciduous forests with oak (Quercus spp.) and coniferous stands with pine (Pinus spp.). The species develops in subcortical layers of dead wood infested by wood-decaying fungi.