Most dolphins are marine and live in the ocean or brackish waters along coastlines. There are a few species, however, like the South Asian river dolphin and the Amazon river dolphin, or boto, that live in freshwater streams and rivers.

Dolphins can live in either fresh or salt water. Distributed in marine environments worldwide, they range from equatorial to subpolar waters and also can be found in many major river systems. The common and bottlenose dolphins are widely distributed in warm and temperate seas.

Dolphins live in the world’s seas and oceans and in some rivers too. Some dolphin species prefer to live in coastal areas, others like shallow water which are located further out to sea. Finally, there are some species that travel the high seas far from land.

Dolphins live in open oceans, coastal waters that include bays and inlets, river basins, certain inland seas, gulfs, and in channels. As mammals, dolphins breathe through a nostril situated on the top of their heads that's more commonly known as a blowhole, thus they need to surface regularly to replenish their air supply.

Dolphins are found living in bodies of water around the world. They inhabit all of the oceans and some important rivers. Most of them live in saltwater, but a few species thrive in freshwater. The habitat of dolphins varies according to environmental factors and food accessibility.