For a simple graph $G$, the $3$-distance graph, $D_3(G)$, is a graph with the vertex set $V(G)$ and two vertices are adjacent if and only if their distance is $3$ in the graph $G$. For a connected graph $G$, we provide some conditions for the connectedness of $D_3(G)$. Also, we characterize all trees and unicyclic graphs with connected $3$-distance graph.