Police have found a body thought to be that of a Saudi Arabian student, who was washed off rocks at Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast earlier this week.

The 21-year-old was walking along rocks with a group of friends in Noosa National Park on Tuesday night when he was swept into Alexandria Bay.

Police say the man climbed down a small cliff on the beach and walked out onto a rock where he was hit by a large wave.

A major air-and-sea search involving water police, the coast guard and a rescue helicopter crew failed to find any trace of him.

Coastguards retrieved the body around midday today, after it was spotted about 2 kilometres off the coast of Noosa Heads.

The body is yet to be formally identified.