diff --git a/bin/ln/ln.1 b/bin/ln/ln.1
index e6ac24a9a5e7..7ae4ea8548eb 100644
--- a/bin/ln/ln.1
+++ b/bin/ln/ln.1
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 .\"	@(#)ln.1	8.2 (Berkeley) 12/30/93
 .\" $FreeBSD$
 .\"
-.Dd February 14, 2006
+.Dd June 6, 2008
 .Dt LN 1
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
@@ -42,13 +42,13 @@
 .Sh SYNOPSIS
 .Nm
 .Op Fl s Op Fl F
-.Op Fl f | i
+.Op Fl f | iw
 .Op Fl hnv
 .Ar source_file
 .Op Ar target_file
 .Nm
 .Op Fl s Op Fl F
-.Op Fl f | i
+.Op Fl f | iw
 .Op Fl hnv
 .Ar source_file ...
 .Ar target_dir
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ then unlink it so that the link may occur.
 .Fl f
 option overrides any previous
 .Fl i
+and
+.Fl w
 options.)
 .It Fl F
 If the target file already exists and is a directory, then remove it
@@ -134,6 +136,8 @@ Create a symbolic link.
 Cause
 .Nm
 to be verbose, showing files as they are processed.
+.It Fl w
+Warn if the source of a symbolic link does not currently exist.
 .El
 .Pp
 By default,
@@ -194,9 +198,10 @@ operation using the two passed arguments.
 The
 .Fl h ,
 .Fl i ,
-.Fl n
-and
+.Fl n ,
 .Fl v
+and
+.Fl w
 options are non-standard and their use in scripts is not recommended.
 They are provided solely for compatibility with other
 .Nm
diff --git a/bin/ln/ln.c b/bin/ln/ln.c
index d164c76b3fac..45a7cb3d6e9d 100644
--- a/bin/ln/ln.c
+++ b/bin/ln/ln.c
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ int	hflag;				/* Check new name for symlink first. */
 int	iflag;				/* Interactive mode. */
 int	sflag;				/* Symbolic, not hard, link. */
 int	vflag;				/* Verbose output. */
+int	wflag;				/* Warn if symlink target does not
+					 * exist, and -f is not enabled. */
 					/* System link call. */
 int (*linkf)(const char *, const char *);
 char	linkch;
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		exit(linkit(argv[0], argv[1], 0));
 	}
 
-	while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "Ffhinsv")) != -1)
+	while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "Ffhinsvw")) != -1)
 		switch (ch) {
 		case 'F':
 			Fflag = 1;
@@ -100,6 +102,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		case 'f':
 			fflag = 1;
 			iflag = 0;
+			wflag = 0;
 			break;
 		case 'h':
 		case 'n':
@@ -115,6 +118,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		case 'v':
 			vflag = 1;
 			break;
+		case 'w':
+			wflag = 1;
+			break;
 		case '?':
 		default:
 			usage();
@@ -127,8 +133,10 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	linkch = sflag ? '-' : '=';
 	if (sflag == 0)
 		Fflag = 0;
-	if (Fflag == 1 && iflag == 0)
+	if (Fflag == 1 && iflag == 0) {
 		fflag = 1;
+		wflag = 0;		/* Implied when fflag != 0 */
+	}
 
 	switch(argc) {
 	case 0:
@@ -167,6 +175,7 @@ linkit(const char *source, const char *target, int isdir)
 	const char *p;
 	int ch, exists, first;
 	char path[PATH_MAX];
+	char wbuf[PATH_MAX];
 
 	if (!sflag) {
 		/* If source doesn't exist, quit now. */
@@ -203,6 +212,32 @@ linkit(const char *source, const char *target, int isdir)
 	}
 
 	exists = !lstat(target, &sb);
+	/*
+	 * If the link source doesn't exist, and a symbolic link was
+	 * requested, and -w was specified, give a warning.
+	 */
+	if (sflag && wflag) {
+		if (*source == '/') {
+			/* Absolute link source. */
+			if (stat(source, &sb) != 0)
+				 warn("warning: %s inaccessible", source);
+		} else {
+			/*
+			 * Relative symlink source.  Try to construct the
+			 * absolute path of the source, by appending `source'
+			 * to the parent directory of the target.
+			 */
+			p = strrchr(target, '/');
+			if (p != NULL)
+				p++;
+			else
+				p = target;
+			(void)snprintf(wbuf, sizeof(wbuf), "%.*s%s",
+			    (p - target), target, source);
+			if (stat(wbuf, &sb) != 0)
+				warn("warning: %s", source);
+		}
+	}
 	/*
 	 * If the file exists, then unlink it forcibly if -f was specified
 	 * and interactively if -i was specified.