Leterme, who came into office in March, threw in the towel after failing to strike a deal on state reforms among Dutch- and French- speaking parties. He had set July 15 as a deadline.
King Albert II has not accepted Leterme's resignation yet, Belgium's public broadcaster VRT reported Wednesday.
The sudden fall of the government plunged Belgium into a political crisis. A coalition of five Dutch and French- speaking parties was set up in March after nine months of political wrangling over the formation of a government.
The king on Tuesday talked with the prime ministers of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels and leaders of the German-speaking community government, and met with party leaders of the resigned government as well as the opposition the next day.
Parties from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking community in northern Belgium, are demanding greater autonomy, while their counterparts from the French-speaking Wallonia in the south disagreed with the reason that more autonomy would further dismantle the federal state.
The francophones fear more autonomy for Flanders may reduce the budget allocated to the poor Walloon region and the bilingual capital, Brussels. The two sides also disagreed on the splitting of a constituency in Brussels.
The king attempted to open a direct dialogue between the representatives of Dutch- and French-speaking camps.
Francophone Liberals said they want to continue in government with Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme at the helm.
Finance Minister Didier Reynders, a Francophone liberal, came out in support of a "balanced package of state reforms" on Tuesday. He said that more cash and greater powers could be transferred to the regions, but the Brussels Region would be extended in return.
Any expansion of Brussels would nibble into Flemish territory, analysts say.
