diff --git a/src/cargo/core/compiler/build_context/mod.rs b/src/cargo/core/compiler/build_context/mod.rs
index 789acc8a3ed..cc3096c4eb5 100644
--- a/src/cargo/core/compiler/build_context/mod.rs
+++ b/src/cargo/core/compiler/build_context/mod.rs
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ impl TargetConfig {
             let mut output = BuildOutput {
                 library_paths: Vec::new(),
                 library_links: Vec::new(),
+                linker_args: Vec::new(),
                 cfgs: Vec::new(),
                 env: Vec::new(),
                 metadata: Vec::new(),
@@ -258,6 +259,12 @@ impl TargetConfig {
                             .library_paths
                             .extend(list.iter().map(|v| PathBuf::from(&v.0)));
                     }
+                    "rustc-cdylib-link-arg" => {
+                        let args = value.list(k)?;
+                        output
+                            .linker_args
+                            .extend(args.iter().map(|v| v.0.clone()));
+                    }
                     "rustc-cfg" => {
                         let list = value.list(k)?;
                         output.cfgs.extend(list.iter().map(|v| v.0.clone()));
diff --git a/src/cargo/core/compiler/custom_build.rs b/src/cargo/core/compiler/custom_build.rs
index 24658c781b7..66074f6997a 100644
--- a/src/cargo/core/compiler/custom_build.rs
+++ b/src/cargo/core/compiler/custom_build.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ pub struct BuildOutput {
     pub library_paths: Vec<PathBuf>,
     /// Names and link kinds of libraries, suitable for the `-l` flag.
     pub library_links: Vec<String>,
+    /// Linker arguments suitable to be passed to `-C link-arg=<args>`
+    pub linker_args: Vec<String>,
     /// Various `--cfg` flags to pass to the compiler.
     pub cfgs: Vec<String>,
     /// Additional environment variables to run the compiler with.
@@ -437,6 +439,7 @@ impl BuildOutput {
     ) -> CargoResult<BuildOutput> {
         let mut library_paths = Vec::new();
         let mut library_links = Vec::new();
+        let mut linker_args = Vec::new();
         let mut cfgs = Vec::new();
         let mut env = Vec::new();
         let mut metadata = Vec::new();
@@ -484,6 +487,7 @@ impl BuildOutput {
                 }
                 "rustc-link-lib" => library_links.push(value.to_string()),
                 "rustc-link-search" => library_paths.push(PathBuf::from(value)),
+                "rustc-cdylib-link-arg" => linker_args.push(value.to_string()),
                 "rustc-cfg" => cfgs.push(value.to_string()),
                 "rustc-env" => env.push(BuildOutput::parse_rustc_env(&value, &whence)?),
                 "warning" => warnings.push(value.to_string()),
@@ -496,6 +500,7 @@ impl BuildOutput {
         Ok(BuildOutput {
             library_paths,
             library_links,
+            linker_args,
             cfgs,
             env,
             metadata,
diff --git a/src/cargo/core/compiler/mod.rs b/src/cargo/core/compiler/mod.rs
index 22f70bf67aa..edf8ac1b88d 100644
--- a/src/cargo/core/compiler/mod.rs
+++ b/src/cargo/core/compiler/mod.rs
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ fn rustc<'a, 'cfg>(
     // If we are a binary and the package also contains a library, then we
     // don't pass the `-l` flags.
     let pass_l_flag = unit.target.is_lib() || !unit.pkg.targets().iter().any(|t| t.is_lib());
+    let pass_cdylib_link_args = unit.target.is_cdylib();
     let do_rename = unit.target.allows_underscores() && !unit.mode.is_any_test();
     let real_name = unit.target.name().to_string();
     let crate_name = unit.target.crate_name();
@@ -257,6 +258,7 @@ fn rustc<'a, 'cfg>(
                     &build_state,
                     &build_deps,
                     pass_l_flag,
+                    pass_cdylib_link_args,
                     current_id,
                 )?;
                 add_plugin_deps(&mut rustc, &build_state, &build_deps, &root_output)?;
@@ -346,6 +348,7 @@ fn rustc<'a, 'cfg>(
         build_state: &BuildMap,
         build_scripts: &BuildScripts,
         pass_l_flag: bool,
+        pass_cdylib_link_args: bool,
         current_id: PackageId,
     ) -> CargoResult<()> {
         for key in build_scripts.to_link.iter() {
@@ -367,6 +370,12 @@ fn rustc<'a, 'cfg>(
                         rustc.arg("-l").arg(name);
                     }
                 }
+                if pass_cdylib_link_args {
+                    for arg in output.linker_args.iter() {
+                        let link_arg = format!("link-arg={}", arg);
+                        rustc.arg("-C").arg(link_arg);
+                    }
+                }
             }
         }
         Ok(())
diff --git a/src/doc/src/reference/build-scripts.md b/src/doc/src/reference/build-scripts.md
index e9727e181b8..f44564ecddd 100644
--- a/src/doc/src/reference/build-scripts.md
+++ b/src/doc/src/reference/build-scripts.md
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ cargo:rustc-link-lib=static=foo
 cargo:rustc-link-search=native=/path/to/foo
 cargo:rustc-cfg=foo
 cargo:rustc-env=FOO=bar
+cargo:rustc-cdylib-link-arg=-Wl,-soname,libfoo.so.1.2.3
 # arbitrary user-defined metadata
 cargo:root=/path/to/foo
 cargo:libdir=/path/to/foo/lib
@@ -93,6 +94,9 @@ crate is built:
   This is useful for embedding additional metadata in crate's code,
   such as the hash of Git HEAD or the unique identifier of a continuous
   integration server.
+* `rustc-cdylib-link-arg=FLAG` is a flag passed to the compiler as
+  `-C link-arg=FLAG` when building a `cdylib`. Its usage is highly platform
+  specific. It is useful to set the shared library version or the runtime-path.
 * `rerun-if-changed=PATH` is a path to a file or directory which indicates that
   the build script should be re-run if it changes (detected by a more-recent
   last-modified timestamp on the file). Normally build scripts are re-run if