A man wielding a piece of wood has held-up a Brisbane brothel.

The man, wearing a grey hoody, went into Montecito in Bowen Hills about 7.20pm on Tuesday night threatening staff with a piece of wood with nails sticking out of it.

Police have released images of the man wanted in connection to a brothel robbery in Bowen Hills.

The receptionist handed over a sum of cash before the man fled.

Police said the amount was about $1800 on Wednesday but the brothel disputed this the next day saying they do not keep large sums of cash on site and the amount stolen was more than $1000 less than that.