Australian crime figure turned author Mark Brandon Read has died after a long battle with liver cancer aged 58.

Read died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital "after a long and courageous battle with liver cancer" on Wednesday afternoon, Read's manager Andrew Parisi said.

"I am deeply saddened to confirm the death of Mark Brandon Read, known widely throughout Australia and the world as 'Chopper'. Mark passed away today at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after a long and courageous battle with liver cancer," Parisi said in a statement.

"A fortnight ago, Mark made his last public appearance in front of a sold-out audience at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre. Despite his failing health, he delighted the audience with his skills as a raconteur and storyteller. This is how he would wish to be remembered, as someone who spun a great yarn and made many people laugh.

Parisi said Read's death is a tragic loss for his wife, Margaret, and his sons, Roy and Charlie.

"For more than fifteen years, Mark has lived a quiet life with Margaret in Collingwood. He worked as a writer, painter and public speaker, paid his taxes and took care of his family.

"At the time of his death, we ask that people reflect on how Mark was able to overcome his past and, after more than 23 years in prison, find a way to re-enter "normal" society.

"It is as a husband, father and friend that Mark will be missed most deeply.

"In their time of grief, out of respect for Mark's two young sons in particular, the family requests utmost privacy."

Read had spent much of his adult life in prison for committing multiple violent crimes, and gained infamy in his younger days for sometimes using a blowtorch or bolt cutters to remove the toes of his targets.

He also had a fellow Pentridge Prison inmate slice off both of his ears while in jail.

Read later used his career in crime as the basis for a series of bestselling true crime books, although exactly how ''true'' many of the stories are has been questioned.

"Look, honestly, I haven't killed that many people," Read said in an interview with The New York Times earlier this year, "probably about four or seven, depending on how you look at it.'

Read was diagnosed with liver cancer in April last year and he also has cirrhosis. He said his illness started after contracting hepatitis C while in prison.