diff --git a/src/node.cc b/src/node.cc
index 7ca3e14ee06c3a..8c906b994e70d8 100644
--- a/src/node.cc
+++ b/src/node.cc
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 // USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
 
 #include "node.h"
+#include "node_dotenv.h"
 
 // ========== local headers ==========
 
@@ -303,6 +304,10 @@ MaybeLocal<Value> StartExecution(Environment* env, StartExecutionCallback cb) {
   }
 #endif
 
+  if (env->options()->load_dotenv) {
+    node::dotenv::LoadFromFile(env->isolate(), env->GetCwd(), env->env_vars());
+  }
+
   // TODO(joyeecheung): move these conditions into JS land and let the
   // deserialize main function take precedence. For workers, we need to
   // move the pre-execution part into a different file that can be
diff --git a/src/node_dotenv.cc b/src/node_dotenv.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..ace2c88322cac7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/node_dotenv.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+#include "node_dotenv.h"
+#include "uv.h"
+
+namespace node {
+
+using v8::Isolate;
+using v8::NewStringType;
+
+namespace dotenv {
+
+void LoadFromFile(Isolate* isolate,
+                  const std::string_view src,
+                  std::shared_ptr<KVStore> store) {
+  std::string path = std::string(src) + "/.env";
+
+  uv_fs_t req;
+  auto defer_req_cleanup = OnScopeLeave([&req]() { uv_fs_req_cleanup(&req); });
+
+  uv_file file = uv_fs_open(nullptr, &req, path.c_str(), 0, 438, nullptr);
+  if (req.result < 0) {
+    // req will be cleaned up by scope leave.
+    return;
+  }
+  uv_fs_req_cleanup(&req);
+
+  auto defer_close = OnScopeLeave([file]() {
+    uv_fs_t close_req;
+    CHECK_EQ(0, uv_fs_close(nullptr, &close_req, file, nullptr));
+    uv_fs_req_cleanup(&close_req);
+  });
+
+  std::string result{};
+  char buffer[8192];
+  uv_buf_t buf = uv_buf_init(buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  while (true) {
+    auto r = uv_fs_read(nullptr, &req, file, &buf, 1, -1, nullptr);
+    if (req.result < 0) {
+      // req will be cleaned up by scope leave.
+      return;
+    }
+    uv_fs_req_cleanup(&req);
+    if (r <= 0) {
+      break;
+    }
+    result.append(buf.base, r);
+  }
+
+  using std::string_view_literals::operator""sv;
+
+  for (const auto& line : SplitString(result, "\n"sv)) {
+    auto equal_index = line.find('=');
+
+    if (equal_index == std::string_view::npos) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    std::string_view key = line.substr(0, equal_index);
+    std::string_view value = line.substr(equal_index + 1);
+
+    store->Set(isolate,
+               v8::String::NewFromUtf8(
+                   isolate, key.data(), NewStringType::kNormal, key.size())
+                   .ToLocalChecked(),
+               v8::String::NewFromUtf8(
+                   isolate, value.data(), NewStringType::kNormal, value.size())
+                   .ToLocalChecked());
+  }
+}
+
+}  // namespace dotenv
+
+}  // namespace node
diff --git a/src/node_dotenv.h b/src/node_dotenv.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..42d62f65504f5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/node_dotenv.h
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#ifndef SRC_NODE_DOTENV_H_
+#define SRC_NODE_DOTENV_H_
+
+#if defined(NODE_WANT_INTERNALS) && NODE_WANT_INTERNALS
+
+#include "util-inl.h"
+
+namespace node {
+
+namespace dotenv {
+
+void LoadFromFile(v8::Isolate* isolate,
+                  const std::string_view path,
+                  std::shared_ptr<KVStore> store);
+
+}  // namespace dotenv
+
+}  // namespace node
+
+#endif  // defined(NODE_WANT_INTERNALS) && NODE_WANT_INTERNALS
+
+#endif  // SRC_NODE_DOTENV_H_
diff --git a/src/node_options.cc b/src/node_options.cc
index c02752464c4ab5..406ea4711e8005 100644
--- a/src/node_options.cc
+++ b/src/node_options.cc
@@ -575,6 +575,9 @@ EnvironmentOptionsParser::EnvironmentOptionsParser() {
             "write warnings to file instead of stderr",
             &EnvironmentOptions::redirect_warnings,
             kAllowedInEnvvar);
+  AddOption("--load-dotenv",
+            "load .env configuration file on startup",
+            &EnvironmentOptions::load_dotenv);
   AddOption("--test",
             "launch test runner on startup",
             &EnvironmentOptions::test_runner);
diff --git a/src/node_options.h b/src/node_options.h
index bb8b68894b4430..192b543f82035d 100644
--- a/src/node_options.h
+++ b/src/node_options.h
@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ class EnvironmentOptions : public Options {
 #endif  // HAVE_INSPECTOR
   std::string redirect_warnings;
   std::string diagnostic_dir;
+  bool load_dotenv = false;
   bool test_runner = false;
   bool test_runner_coverage = false;
   std::vector<std::string> test_name_pattern;
diff --git a/test/fixtures/dotenv/valid/.env b/test/fixtures/dotenv/valid/.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..1cbeab17e36b4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/dotenv/valid/.env
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+DATABASE_PASSWORD=nodejs
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-dotenv.js b/test/parallel/test-dotenv.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..e2a83b5e26bc56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/parallel/test-dotenv.js
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+'use strict';
+
+require('../common');
+const assert = require('node:assert');
+const { spawnSync } = require('node:child_process');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+{
+  const child = spawnSync(
+    process.execPath,
+    ['--load-dotenv', '-e', 'console.log(process.env.DATABASE_PASSWORD)'],
+    {
+      cwd: path.join(__dirname, '../fixtures/dotenv/valid')
+    }
+  );
+
+  assert.strictEqual(child.stdout.toString(), 'nodejs\n');
+}