More than 10 per cent of Australia's native mammals have become extinct since European settlement, a new study has found.

The three-year study examined the fate of Australian mammals over the past 200 years and found one or two mammal species have been lost every decade.

The extinction rate is higher than on any other continent.

The study produced a report titled The Action Plan for Australian Mammals, which assesses the status, fate and future of nature in Australia.

Co-author John Woinarski from Charles Darwin University said feral cats and foxes were the primary cause of the decline.

"Australians spend $6 billion a year on pets," he said.

"If ... just a tenth of that was added to the conservation effort, we'd have a far more equitable arrangement and far more species would be prevented from going extinct.

"Rather than your dogs or your cats or your guinea pigs or your chooks, actually be concerned about quokkas and rat kangaroos and bandicoots as well."

Dr Woinarski says a further 20 per cent of native mammals should be recognised as being under threat.