Police in Florida, US have arrested a fugitive by tracking him on Facebook where he had put his "Wanted" poster as profile picture.

The Stuart Police Department in Florida were hunting Mack Yearwood for an accusation of battery -- a criminal offence involving use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or sexual contact, CNET reported on Monday.

"If you are wanted by the police, it's probably not a good idea to use the 'Wanted of the Week' poster of yourself as your profile pic," the Stuart Police Department wrote on its Facebook page.

The police had few clues about Yearwood's whereabouts and they decided to check out his Facebook page to see what they could find. 

They found an image of Yearwood in a "Wanted" poster from another Florida jurisdiction, Citrus county.

A spokesperson from the department said he was not sure why Yearwood had displayed the "Wanted" poster.

With two warrants on his name, the police decided to go to Yearwood's brother's house and arrested Yearwood.