The man, 33, of Matraville, is the first to be charged with such an offence, and faces up to three years in jail.
Police allege the man repeatedly forwarded two text messages calling for people to meet at two Sydney beaches on December 18, a week after a gathering of 5,000 people at north Cronulla beach turned violent.
The man was charged with using a service to menace, harass or cause offence, as well as one count of printing, publishing to incite or urging the commission of a crime/
He was granted bail to appear in Waverley Local Court on February 1.
Police say they expect to make similar arrests in coming days as they trace the source of several further text messages that circulated across the country in the days following the December 11 riot, in which Caucasians attacked people of Middle Eastern appearance.
"We've been working in the last week in gathering and analysing information we've obtained from the carriers, and this fellow was identified as one fellow that had been sending messages and we've acted," Police Commander Dennis Bray told ABC radio.
"There will be more, but at this stage he unfortunately was the first one."
About 2,000 police officers have been patrolling Sydney beaches in a massive operation to prevent any more unrest from taking place.
The first charges over the messages coincided with the launch of an advertising campaign worth A$250,000 that aims to bring people back to Sydney's beaches.
Some beachside businesses have reported a massive downturn since the unrest.
Ads feature well-known sports stars, including former Cronulla Sharks captain Andrew Ettingshausen, swimmer Susie Maroney, Sydney Swans star Nick Davis, retired Cronulla Sharks prop Jason Stevens and former Wallaby Mark Ella.
The campaign is designed to promote Sydney's beach suburbs as safe for everyone.
Meanwhile, the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board has reported a massive increase in complaints of discrimination and vilification following the racial unrest that has gripped Sydney following the Cronulla riot.
The board's president, Stepan Kerkyasharian, said there had been 42 complaints since December 12 - up from 24 in the same period last year.
Also, a 17-year-old became the fifth person charged over a violent attack aboard a train on the day of the Cronulla riot.
The teenager was charged with riot and affray and refused bail to appear in Bidura Children's Court on Friday.
Police Commissioner Ken Moroney had warned people to stay away from Sydney's beaches last weekend after the riot at Cronulla and revenge attacks by Middle Eastern gangs in other suburbs.
But Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday said he does not expect racial violence to flare in Sydney over the holidays.