A 37-year-old man is in hospital after suffering injuries caused by a chainsaw during an altercation with another man at a property near Te Puke this morning.

The Te Puke man was taken to Tauranga Hospital with back injuries after police say he and another man known to the victim got into an argument at a rural property south of Te Puke.

Bay of Plenty Police district communications manager Kim Perks says police received a call reporting a serious assault from an address near Rangiruru Road about 10.30am.

'During the argument one of the men, aged 37, has received an injury to his back caused by a chainsaw,” says Kim.

'The injury is not believed to be life-threatening and he is being treated at Tauranga Hospital.”

Kim says police are still investigating how the incident happened and it is too early to say how the injury occurred.

It is understood there were a number of people at the property at the time of the incident and detectives were speaking to all witnesses.

A Tauranga Hospital spokesperson says the 37-year-old man is in a stable condition in hospital.