Beijing: Prominent journalist and political analyst Gao Yu has been reported missing, prompting concern for her welfare in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Friends of Ms Gao have been unable to reach the outspoken 70-year-old journalist - who was jailed twice for her political writings linked to the pro-democracy movement in 1989 - since Thursday night.

Missing: Chinese journalist Gao Yu. Credit:AFP

Her lawyer, Teng Biao, and other Chinese publishers and activists have said they have been unable to reach her or find her at home. On Tuesday, her home phone rang unanswered and her mobile phone was switched off.

Prominent political activists are routinely monitored in China, and their movements are often restricted in the lead-up to sensitive anniversaries, like the April 15, 1989, death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang. His death intensified a student-led pro-democracy movement in China which ultimately resulted in a government crackdown on June 4 that year, which left at least hundreds of civilians dead.