AbstractDifferences in the patterns of microhabitat use by small mammals have been largely related to the coexistence process of the species. The present study analyses how the marsupial Marmosops incanus and the rodent Rhipidomys mastacalis use the microhabitat in a areas of arboreal restinga in the Brazilian north‐east. Through capture‐marking‐recapture, sampling was performed monthly from September 2017 to August 2018 using Sherman traps and pitfall. Six microhabitat variables were measured at all capture stations. The use of vertical strata (ground and understory) was compared using a chi‐square test, and associations of species abundances with microhabitat characteristics were explored using redundancy analysis. The results indicate that the species use the vertical strata at different frequencies, with R. mastacalis found exclusively in the understory and M. incanus found more in the understory than in the ground. The variation in the abundance of the species was associated with the density of the understory, with an increase in M. incanus abundance and a decrease in R. mastacalis. Differences in the patterns found for these species in other environments indicate plasticity in relation to the use of vertical strata and the approaches used suggest that the differential use of the arboreal stratum can be a facilitator in the process of coexistence in areas of restinga.Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.