Former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr says he is making representations in Beijing and Canberra about the case of Sydney academic Feng Chongyi.
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Dr Feng, an associate professor of China Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, was prevented from boarding a plane at Guangzhou airport on Friday morning and again on Saturday night.
Two Chinese lawyers who are in contact with Dr Feng say he was advised verbally by security police that he was under suspicion of threatening state security.
He had not been shown any documentation before being stopped from leaving China, they said.
The lawyers said Dr Feng was at a Guangzhou hotel and had been told he was free to travel within China.
Dr Feng had been meeting Chinese human rights lawyers for his research before being "caught" in Guangzhou by the police.
Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said on Sunday the Australian government had raised the case with the Chinese government.
"He is an Australian permanent resident, not an Australian citizen, and the Chinese government doesn't recognise if someone holds Chinese nationality, they don't recognise dual citizenship," he said.
"We'll continue to monitor the situation and remain in contact with Chinese authorities about it."
Mr Carr said in a statement there was evidence that private representations could be more effective than other approaches and he hoped Dr Feng's return could be resolved quickly.
Mr Carr is the director of the UTS Australia-China Relations Institute. Dr Feng headed China Studies at UTS for 11 years until 2006.
In awkward timing, Mr Carr was in China attending the Boao Forum for business leaders at the time as Dr Feng was placed on a no-fly list in Guangzhou.
Mr Carr is leading a delegation of the Australia-China Relations Institute in Beijing this week.
The institute is seen as being more "pro-China" and focusing on the economic relationship between Australia and China.
Dr Feng's research, by contrast, has been in the more controversial area of pro-democracy groups within China.
The University of Technology said it had been in regular contact with Dr Feng.
"[He] has assured the university that he is fine, and that, although he is currently unable to leave China, for reasons we do not yet understand, he nonetheless has freedom of movement in China and freedom of communications," a statement from the university said.
"UTS has been supporting Dr Feng and his family, which he appreciates. The university is also in contact with the relevant government agencies in the hope that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible."
The Reuters newsagency reported Dr Feng had been repeatedly interrogated during his visit over his links to liberal intellectuals in mainland China and "who his contacts were in Australia".
Dr Feng was quoted in a Fairfax Media article last year about Beijing's control over Chinese-language media in Australia.
Having briefly published a Chinese-language newspaper in Sydney, he said he was well aware of the pressure exerted by Chinese officials.
Furthermore, he said the Chinese consulate had threatened to block him from collaborating with Chinese universities and to restrict him from obtaining visas to travel to the mainland.
The Chinese government also censored social media content, he said.
"The net effect is now the Chinese community in Australia, actually their major cultural consumption, is still party propaganda," he said last July.
Dr Feng's wife and daughter are Australian nationals.
The incident comes as Premier Li Keqiang winds up his visit to Australia this week, a tour aimed at strengthening the political and economic relationship between China and Australia.
Professor John Fitzgerald, a Swinburne University China expert who knows Dr Feng, said he was puzzled as to why such a prominent academic based in Australia would be prevented from leaving China.
He said Australia should be concerned about Dr Feng's treatment.
"It would be easy for the government to wash its hands of this case because he is not travelling on an Australian passport," Professor Fitzgerald said.
"But I think it should be doing more for an Australian resident who has contributed to our understanding of China over the years.
"We can't afford to have people like Professor Feng locked out of the conversation about Australia-China relations at this critical point in our history."
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government was aware a UTS professor, who is an Australian permanent resident, has been prevented from leaving China.
"According to the Australia-China consular treaty, the Australian government is able to provide consular assistance only to Australian citizens who have entered China on their Australian passport," he said.
