New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has reportedly received death threats on social media, reports New Zealand Herald.

Police are investigating the threats sent to Ardern on social media, it reads.

A Twitter post containing a photo of a gun and captioned "You are next" was sent to the Prime Minister.

The Herald understands that the post had been up for more than 48 hours before the sender's Twitter account was suspended before 4pm after it was reported by various people.

Another post tagged to Ardern and NZ Police and had the same photo with "next it's you".

The suspended account contained anti-Islamic content and white supremacist hate speech.

A police spokeswoman told the Herald, "Police are aware of a comment made on Twitter and are making enquiries."

The Prime Minister's office has been contacted for comment.

A Twitter spokesperson said Twitter rules prohibit violent threats.

"We took action shortly after we received the first report on this Tweet, and our teams continue to work proactively to remove violative and illegal content from the service in relation to the Christchurch attack.

"We also continue to cooperate with law enforcement to facilitate their investigations as required.”