The death of a retired surgeon whose body was found with head injuries in his Napier home on Tuesday was accidental, police say.

James David Elliott, 66, was found dead in his Bluff Hill house on Tuesday, two days after he was last seen alive.

Police weren't sure how Mr Elliott received the head injuries which caused his death.

But Detective Senior Sergeant Dave de Lange says a scene examination, the post-mortem examination results and other inquiries suggest the death was accidental.

The death is being referred to the coroner.

Mr Elliott was an orthopaedic surgeon and was described by his former colleague Denis Atkinson as a skilled and reliable man of medicine, Hawke's Bay Today reported.