Wahid, who was often referred to by his nickname Gus Dur, ruled the country between 1999 and 2001.
He was the first elected president after the fall of the 32-year Suharto regime in 1998.
Wahid had been suffering from a number of medical problems in recent years. He was a diabetic and was known to have had a series of strokes.
Abdurrahman Wahid had been frail for some time and was nearly blind
Short tenure
"Gus Dur just passed away," Lukman Edy from Wahid's National Awakening Party told reporters.
According to local television reports he died of heart failure, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Wahid - a partially blind Muslim cleric - came to power after defeating Megawati Sukarnoputri in a general election in October 1999.
Educated in Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq and Canada, he had a reputation for religious tolerance and moderate politics.
But he had not been in the job long before his opponents accused him of failing to tackle the economic crisis, and failing to resolve secessionist conflicts in several provinces of Indonesia.
In July 2001, less than two years into the job, he was sacked by the country's national assembly amid unproven allegations of corruption and incompetence.( bbc.co.uk )
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