Little Bourke Street was blocked off. Credit:Joe Armao

A man has been charged with murder after a woman's body was found on the streets of Melbourne's Chinatown.

The woman, a 32-year-old from Highton, a suburb of Geelong, was found by a passerby on Celestial Avenue, near Little Bourke Street, just after 6.30am on Wednesday.

A Cowes man, 32, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and later charged with murder.

He was held in custody overnight and is expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.