A wanted man has isolated himself and a woman on a roof in Ipswich and refused to come down while he talked to his lawyer on the phone.

The tense standoff began about 11am on Friday when officers, who were looking for the man, spotted him.

A man and woman in a tense standoff with police on an Ipswich roof. Credit:Nine News Queensland

They were on a building on the corner of Brisbane and Ellenborough streets in the Ipswich CBD, only two blocks from the Ipswich police station and courthouse.

Police said the man was armed with a large pole, but was talking to police negotiators.

It was not known whether the woman with him was also wanted.