  NGC 4736 is a nearby Sab spiral galaxy, hosting one of the closest examples
of a LINER nucleus. We have utilized recent observations by ROSAT and ASCA to
characterise the X-ray properties of this galaxy. Twelve discrete X-ray sources
are detected within the region subtended by its optical disk, the majority of
which are likely to be X-ray binaries associated with the galaxy. By far the
brightest source in the X-ray band is positionally coincident with the nucleus
of the galaxy and is spatially resolved into a component with a radial extent
of ~ 3 kpc plus a point-like core. The broad band (0.1-10 keV) spectrum of this
nuclear source is composed of a hard continuum with a spectral slope
characteristic of that observed in classical Seyfert nuclei (i.e. power-law
photon index, Gamma ~ 1.7), with thermal emission (kT = 0.1-0.6 keV) dominant
below 2 keV. An Fe K alpha line may also be present at ~ 6.8 keV. There is no
evidence for X-ray temporal variability on timescales of hours to years. A
plausible model is that the hard continuum originates in a near-quiescent
active galactic nucleus (with L_x ~ 6 x 10^39 erg/s, 0.5-10 keV) embedded in
the LINER at the centre of NGC 4736. However, an alternative explanation,
namely that the LINER is the site of a dense population of X-ray binary
sources, cannot be completely excluded.
