An Egyptian court has overturned a three-year prison sentence against ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak on corruption charges and ordered a retrial in the sole case still pending against him.

In November, another court had dropped murder charges against the 86-year-old former leader over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his three decades of autocratic rule.

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A lower court had handed down the jail sentence against Mubarak in May last year after convicting him of embezzling more than 100,000 Egyptian pounds (about $A15.15 million) earmarked for the maintenance of presidential palaces.

It had also handed down four-year jail sentences against the toppled leader’s sons, Alaa and Gamal.

The Court of Cassation did not specify whether Mubarak was a free man following its judgment.

But his lawyer Farid al-Deeb said that his client ought to go free as he “has already served” three years in prison.