The first dataset contains taxonomic checklists for all extant cave-dwelling bats species extracted from the expert-based International Union for the Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List database version 2020.1 (Table 1). We screened and included all bat species that were reported to use, roost in, or aggregate in “Caves”, “Underground”, and “Karsts” habitats in any part of their life histories. We also scanned major bat cave databases from expeditions such as “Bats in China” (http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/bats/China/) and UNEP-EUROBATS (https://www.eurobats.org/) for European bats21. In addition, the first dataset contains species ecological traits, distribution range, and threatening processes.