A 71-year-old man who was found dead in a Canberra apartment is believed to have met with foul play.

Emergency services were called to the man’s Mansfield Place unit in Phillip in Canberra’s south at around 2pm (AEDT) on New Year’s Day.

Police believe the 71-year-old, who lived alone, died sometime in the mid-morning and are treating his death as suspicious.

Detective Station Sergeant Bob Wynn said it didn’t appear that anyone had forced entry to the man’s unit.

“The circumstances are yet to be fully unravelled,” Sgt Wynn told reporters on Thursday.

“We are still trying to track down the movements of the deceased prior to his death, so we are a little bit uncertain as to exactly how it has played out,” he said.

“We are certainly treating it as foul play.”

Sgt Wynn said the post mortem examination, due for Friday, will reveal more details about the cause of death.

Police remained at the crime scene on Thursday and are expected to be there for the next two to three days.

“There are people out there who know what occurred … so we are very keen to hear from anyone who has some information they may not have already provided to police,” Sgt Wynn said.