A mother live-streamed video on Facebook of her hitting and verbally abusing her teenage daughter for posting provocative pictures online.

The child welfare department for the state of Georgia in the US is investigating, after the woman used her daughter's own Facebook profile to stream the attack, which took place in the city of Savannah.

In the video the woman can be seen punching and slapping the teenager who is left crying and cowering in a corner, while a third person captures the incident on camera.

A later post on the girl's Facebook profile that appeared to be written by the mother, who has not been charged by police, says "I love my daughter with all my heart."

But she added that her daughter won't "disrespect me."

Savannah police say the daughter told them she feels safe in the home.

Police spokesman Sonny Cohrs says there are no charges at this time, but he says the case has been referred to the state's child welfare department.

A spokeswoman for that agency, Susan Boatwright, would neither confirm nor deny involvement in the case, citing privacy laws.