Acclaimed ABC journalist Sarah Ferguson will replace Kerry O'Brien as presenter of flagship current affairs program Four Corners.

The national broadcaster confirmed on Tuesday that Ferguson - a past winner of the nation's top gong in journalism, the Gold Walkley - would anchor as well as report for the weekly program. It came as O'Brien signed off for the final time on Monday night, after 40 years with the ABC.

Ferguson previously worked on Four Corners from 2008 to 2013 and in 2011 won the Gold Walkley for "A Bloody Business", a investigation into cruelty inflicted on Australian cattle traded in Indonesia. The report had political consequences, with the then Labor government under Julia Gillard suspending live cattle exports to Indonesia following the public outcry.

Ferguson thanked O'Brien and said she was glad to return to the program. "There is no place I would rather be," she said. "Four Corners has the past nailed and a future full of promise and excitement."

The ABC will also welcome former US correspondent Ben Knight to the Four Corners team in 2016. The program's executive producer Sally Neighbour said it was shaping up to be "another exciting year".

"I am absolutely thrilled to have Sarah stepping into the chair," Neighbour said. "She is a brilliant journalist whose work epitomises the excellence that is the hallmark of Four Corners."

The program, which aired its first episode in 1961, is widely regarded as the nation's best in television current affairs. This year it has investigated animal abuse in the greyhound racing business, the roots of jihadism in Australia and the home life of disgraced union secretary Kathy Jackson, among other subjects.

Ferguson has also widely praised for her work since leaving Four Corners in 2013, including a memorable 7.30 interview with the then Treasurer, Joe Hockey, following his controversial 2014 budget.

But her style has also attracted critics, with an external review commissioned by the ABC finding the Hockey interview was overly hostile and could have inflamed perceptions of bias.

Ferguson's much-anticipated two-part series on Australia's domestic violence crisis, Hitting Home, also airs this week.