diff --git a/include/exec/semihost.h b/include/exec/semihost.h
index c2f0bcb..5980939 100644
--- a/include/exec/semihost.h
+++ b/include/exec/semihost.h
@@ -36,9 +36,27 @@ static inline SemihostingTarget semihosting_get_target(void)
 {
     return SEMIHOSTING_TARGET_AUTO;
 }
+
+static inline const char *semihosting_get_arg(int i)
+{
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+static inline int semihosting_get_argc(void)
+{
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static inline const char *semihosting_get_cmdline(void)
+{
+    return NULL;
+}
 #else
 bool semihosting_enabled(void);
 SemihostingTarget semihosting_get_target(void);
+const char *semihosting_get_arg(int i);
+int semihosting_get_argc(void);
+const char *semihosting_get_cmdline(void);
 #endif
 
 #endif
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 5438f98..7959dd0 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -3351,14 +3351,25 @@ STEXI
 Enable semihosting mode (ARM, M68K, Xtensa only).
 ETEXI
 DEF("semihosting-config", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_semihosting_config,
-    "-semihosting-config [enable=on|off,]target=native|gdb|auto   semihosting configuration\n",
+    "-semihosting-config [enable=on|off][,target=native|gdb|auto][,arg=str[,...]]\n" \
+    "                semihosting configuration\n",
 QEMU_ARCH_ARM | QEMU_ARCH_M68K | QEMU_ARCH_XTENSA | QEMU_ARCH_LM32)
 STEXI
-@item -semihosting-config [enable=on|off,]target=native|gdb|auto
+@item -semihosting-config [enable=on|off][,target=native|gdb|auto][,arg=str[,...]]
 @findex -semihosting-config
-Enable semihosting and define where the semihosting calls will be addressed,
-to QEMU (@code{native}) or to GDB (@code{gdb}). The default is @code{auto}, which means
-@code{gdb} during debug sessions and @code{native} otherwise (ARM, M68K, Xtensa only).
+Enable and configure semihosting (ARM, M68K, Xtensa only).
+@table @option
+@item target=@code{native|gdb|auto}
+Defines where the semihosting calls will be addressed, to QEMU (@code{native})
+or to GDB (@code{gdb}). The default is @code{auto}, which means @code{gdb}
+during debug sessions and @code{native} otherwise.
+@item arg=@var{str1},arg=@var{str2},...
+Allows the user to pass input arguments, and can be used multiple times to build
+up a list. The old-style @code{-kernel}/@code{-append} method of passing a
+command line is still supported for backward compatibility. If both the
+@code{--semihosting-config arg} and the @code{-kernel}/@code{-append} are
+specified, the former is passed to semihosting as it always takes precedence.
+@end table
 ETEXI
 DEF("old-param", 0, QEMU_OPTION_old_param,
     "-old-param      old param mode\n", QEMU_ARCH_ARM)
diff --git a/target-arm/arm-semi.c b/target-arm/arm-semi.c
index a8b83e6..74a67e9 100644
--- a/target-arm/arm-semi.c
+++ b/target-arm/arm-semi.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include <time.h>
 
 #include "cpu.h"
+#include "exec/semihost.h"
 #ifdef CONFIG_USER_ONLY
 #include "qemu.h"
 
@@ -440,10 +441,7 @@ uint32_t do_arm_semihosting(CPUARMState *env)
             input_size = arg1;
             /* Compute the size of the output string.  */
 #if !defined(CONFIG_USER_ONLY)
-            output_size = strlen(ts->boot_info->kernel_filename)
-                        + 1  /* Separating space.  */
-                        + strlen(ts->boot_info->kernel_cmdline)
-                        + 1; /* Terminating null byte.  */
+            output_size = strlen(semihosting_get_cmdline()) + 1;
 #else
             unsigned int i;
 
@@ -474,9 +472,7 @@ uint32_t do_arm_semihosting(CPUARMState *env)
 
             /* Copy the command-line arguments.  */
 #if !defined(CONFIG_USER_ONLY)
-            pstrcpy(output_buffer, output_size, ts->boot_info->kernel_filename);
-            pstrcat(output_buffer, output_size, " ");
-            pstrcat(output_buffer, output_size, ts->boot_info->kernel_cmdline);
+            pstrcpy(output_buffer, output_size, semihosting_get_cmdline());
 #else
             if (output_size == 1) {
                 /* Empty command-line.  */
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index a286877..278cd6a 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -488,6 +488,9 @@ static QemuOptsList qemu_semihosting_config_opts = {
         }, {
             .name = "target",
             .type = QEMU_OPT_STRING,
+        }, {
+            .name = "arg",
+            .type = QEMU_OPT_STRING,
         },
         { /* end of list */ }
     },
@@ -1251,6 +1254,9 @@ static void configure_msg(QemuOpts *opts)
 typedef struct SemihostingConfig {
     bool enabled;
     SemihostingTarget target;
+    const char **argv;
+    int argc;
+    const char *cmdline; /* concatenated argv */
 } SemihostingConfig;
 
 static SemihostingConfig semihosting;
@@ -1265,6 +1271,58 @@ SemihostingTarget semihosting_get_target(void)
     return semihosting.target;
 }
 
+const char *semihosting_get_arg(int i)
+{
+    if (i >= semihosting.argc) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    return semihosting.argv[i];
+}
+
+int semihosting_get_argc(void)
+{
+    return semihosting.argc;
+}
+
+const char *semihosting_get_cmdline(void)
+{
+    if (semihosting.cmdline == NULL && semihosting.argc > 0) {
+        semihosting.cmdline = g_strjoinv(" ", (gchar **)semihosting.argv);
+    }
+    return semihosting.cmdline;
+}
+
+static int add_semihosting_arg(void *opaque,
+                               const char *name, const char *val,
+                               Error **errp)
+{
+    SemihostingConfig *s = opaque;
+    if (strcmp(name, "arg") == 0) {
+        s->argc++;
+        /* one extra element as g_strjoinv() expects NULL-terminated array */
+        s->argv = g_realloc(s->argv, (s->argc + 1) * sizeof(void *));
+        s->argv[s->argc - 1] = val;
+        s->argv[s->argc] = NULL;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/* Use strings passed via -kernel/-append to initialize semihosting.argv[] */
+static inline void semihosting_arg_fallback(const char *file, const char *cmd)
+{
+    char *cmd_token;
+
+    /* argv[0] */
+    add_semihosting_arg(&semihosting, "arg", file, NULL);
+
+    /* split -append and initialize argv[1..n] */
+    cmd_token = strtok(g_strdup(cmd), " ");
+    while (cmd_token) {
+        add_semihosting_arg(&semihosting, "arg", cmd_token, NULL);
+        cmd_token = strtok(NULL, " ");
+    }
+}
+
 /***********************************************************/
 /* USB devices */
 
@@ -3669,6 +3727,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
                     } else {
                         semihosting.target = SEMIHOSTING_TARGET_AUTO;
                     }
+                    /* Set semihosting argument count and vector */
+                    qemu_opt_foreach(opts, add_semihosting_arg,
+                                     &semihosting, NULL);
                 } else {
                     fprintf(stderr, "Unsupported semihosting-config %s\n",
                             optarg);
@@ -4237,6 +4298,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         exit(1);
     }
 
+    if (semihosting_enabled() && !semihosting_get_argc() && kernel_filename) {
+        /* fall back to the -kernel/-append */
+        semihosting_arg_fallback(kernel_filename, kernel_cmdline);
+    }
+
     os_set_line_buffering();
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_SPICE
