Cambodian police detained James Ricketson, 68, on Saturday in capital Phnom Penh a day after he was pictured flying the drone over a local election campaign rally by the Cambodia National Rescue Party.
Ricketson, who has a litany of court battles in Cambodia behind him, has been charged "with acts of collecting information which may undermine national defence," court spokesman Ly Sophana said, without elaborating.
Flying a drone in capital Phnom Penh is banned without official permission.
Ricketson could face between five years and 10 years in jail if convicted, according to the country's criminal code.
It was not immediately clear if the court would grant bail.
This is not the first time that Ricketson has faced Cambodian law.
In 2014, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court handed down a two-year suspended prison sentence for allegedly threatening to broadcast allegations that a Brisbane church working in Cambodia had sold children.
Late last year the same court fined him after he was found guilty of defaming Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), an NGO that hunts paedophiles, for accusing the group of manipulating witnesses.
It is unclear if Ricketson has made any films in recent years.
