Lord Heseltine has criticised the prime minister's European strategy, saying an "ill-advised" referendum would jeopardise the UK's business prospects.
In interviews with the Financial Times and the Times, David Cameron's adviser on growth says offering a referendum on EU membership would be a "punt".
The Tory peer also warns the policy would "drive away inward investment".
Mr Cameron is expected to announce this month that the Tories will offer a referendum after the next election.
It is thought he will make the announcement in a speech on the UK's relationship with Europe later this month.
'Unknown outcome'While Lord Heseltine is known for his pro-European views, many Conservatives are not, and are pressuring the government to commit to a referendum on the question of whether the UK remains in the EU - a so-called "in-out vote".
"Start Quote
End Quote Lord HeseltineTo commit to a referendum about a negotiation that hasn't begun... seems to me like an unnecessary gamble"
Lord Heseltine drew a comparison with a former Conservative prime minister as he recalled: "Mrs Thatcher said 'Never go into a room unless you know how to get out of it'.
"To commit to a referendum about a negotiation that hasn't begun, on a timescale you cannot predict, on an outcome that's unknown, where Britain's appeal as an inward investment market would be the centre of the debate, seems to me like an unnecessary gamble," he added.
He told the Financial Times: "If I was responsible for inward investment into any of our European colleagues, it would give me the best argument I could dream of.
"Why put your factory [in Britain] when you don't know - and they can't tell you - the terms upon which you will trade with us in future?"
David Cameron is facing pressure to hold a referendum on Europe at some stage during the next Parliament and has been criticised by some in his own party for not doing more to distance the UK from the EU.
Mr Cameron wants the UK to remain within the EU but believes there is a need to redefine the relationship in light of moves towards further integration by countries using the single currency.
He has suggested that "fresh consent" from the UK people could be sought for any new deal that emerges as a result of negotiations with other EU countries.
In recent days senior politicians in the US and Germany have warned against Britain leaving the EU, while the leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, Richard Ashworth, warned that the UK appeared to be "snarling like a sort of pitbull across the English Channel".
In addition, the Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told the Der Standard newspaper that he had difficulties with his personal relationship with the British prime minister and with trust.
He said that he felt there was difference between the way Mr Cameron talked to the European Council and the way he talked in his own country.
On Friday, Chancellor George Osborne, suggested in the German newspaper Die Welt that the UK may leave the EU if Brussels failed to reform.
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