Durian fruit is noted for its pungent odour.

A discarded fruit sparked a mass evacuation in a Canberra library when the odour raised fears of a gas leak.

The University of Canberra Library was evacuated on Friday when a suspicious smell was reported.

In a post online, the library staff said 550 people were flushed out of the library in less than six minutes.

Firefighters searched the building for the source of the suspected gas leak, ultimately finding a durian fruit was to blame.

The library re-opened later on Friday.

"The lingering gas-like smell in the building is completely safe - someone left a durian fruit in one of our bins," staff posted on the library Facebook page.

Durian is renowned for its extremely pungent odour.