1. Aquatic: Both fresh (Oedogonium, Spirogyra) and marine (Ulva, Sargassum, Marcocystis). Marine are larger.
2. Terrestrial: Nostoc, Oscillatoria, Fritschiella tuberosa
3. Unusual
- Endophytic: Found inside other plant. Eg: Nostoc punctaeforme in thallus of Anthoceros, Anabena inside leaf of Azolla
- Endozoic: Found within body of other animal. Eg: Zoochlorella and Zooxanthella inside hydra
- Epiphytic: Algae attached to the body of other plants, including algae. Eg: Scytonema- bark of tree, Bulbochaete- Cladophora
- Epizoic: Found attached to body of animals. Eg: Cladophora- on snail's shell, Stigeocolonium- on gills of fish, Characium- attached to mosquito
- Cryophytic: Found in low temp. Eg: Chlamydomonas yellowstonensis- cause green snow
- Cryptophytic: Found below soil. Eg: Chara (stone wort)
- Thermophytes: Algae which can resist high temperature. Eg: Occilatoria brevis, Gleocapsa, Haplosiphon
- Lithophytic: Found on rock. Eg: Revularia, Scytonema
- Halophytic: Found on salty area. Eg: Chlamydomonas ehrenbergii
- Parasitic: Eg: Cephaleurous veriscence- red rust of tea
- Benthic: Eg: Algae found at the bottom of water. Eg: Chara(stone wart)
- Epiphyllophytes: Aerial epiphytes that grow in leaves of tree. Eg: Phycopetis
- Epiphloephytes: Aerial epiphytes that grow on bark of the tree. Eg: Scytonema
- Edapophytes: Found in damp soil. Eg: Oscilatoria (blue-green algae)