Mr Chen published several essays online calling for freedom of speech and reform of China’s one-party system.
He was among hundreds of dissidents detained earlier this year after online calls for protests in China inspired by the uprisings in the Middle East.
He told the court he was not guilty and that “democracy will prevail” in China, say reports.
Mr Chen has always insisted he was simply expressing his opinions as allowed under the Chinese constitution.
His wife told the BBC the trial had been “a performance” and that the verdict had been decided before it began.
The indictment against Mr Chen listed several essays he wrote for foreign websites on topics including pieces which criticised the political system in China and praised the growth of civil society.
Mr Chen is a veteran pro-democracy campaigner, having been jailed for his part in the student protest in 1989 which were crushed in Tiananmen Square.
He is also a sign signatory of Charter 08 – a manifesto for democratic reform that was co-written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Mr Liu is serving an 11-year jail term for his role in producing the document, a sentence which has been widely criticised by governments and rights groups around the world.