diff --git a/api/include/opentelemetry/plugin/tracer.h b/api/include/opentelemetry/plugin/tracer.h
index aed1d26d28..cb1c4b4e1a 100644
--- a/api/include/opentelemetry/plugin/tracer.h
+++ b/api/include/opentelemetry/plugin/tracer.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 #include "opentelemetry/plugin/detail/dynamic_library_handle.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/plugin/detail/tracer_handle.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/link.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/trace/tracer.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/version.h"
 
@@ -37,6 +38,18 @@ class Span final : public trace::Span
     span_->AddEvent(name, timestamp, attributes);
   }
 
+  void AddLink(const trace::Link &link) noexcept override { span_->AddLink(link); }
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context,
+               const trace::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override
+  {
+    span_->AddLink(span_context, attributes);
+  }
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept override
+  {
+    span_->AddLink(span_context);
+  }
+
   void SetStatus(trace::CanonicalCode code, nostd::string_view description) noexcept override
   {
     span_->SetStatus(code, description);
diff --git a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/default_span.h b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/default_span.h
index 9dbe682bc7..3b31c67b3d 100644
--- a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/default_span.h
+++ b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/default_span.h
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ class DefaultSpan : public Span
     this->AddEvent(name, std::chrono::system_clock::now(), attributes);
   }
 
+  void AddLink(const trace::Link &link) noexcept override {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context,
+               const trace::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override
+  {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept override {}
+
   void SetStatus(CanonicalCode status, nostd::string_view description) noexcept {}
 
   void UpdateName(nostd::string_view name) noexcept {}
diff --git a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/link.h b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/link.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2ece0200b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/link.h
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/key_value_iterable.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/span_context.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/version.h"
+
+OPENTELEMETRY_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
+namespace trace
+{
+class Link
+{
+public:
+  // returns the Span Context associated with this Link
+  virtual const SpanContext &GetContext() const = 0;
+
+  // returns the attributes associated with link
+  virtual const KeyValueIterable &GetAttributes() const = 0;
+};
+}  // namespace trace
+OPENTELEMETRY_END_NAMESPACE
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/noop.h b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/noop.h
index b88b1b3093..cc18288a7c 100644
--- a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/noop.h
+++ b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/noop.h
@@ -40,6 +40,14 @@ class NoopSpan final : public Span
                 const trace::KeyValueIterable & /*attributes*/) noexcept override
   {}
 
+  void AddLink(const Link &link) noexcept override {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &spanContext,
+               const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override
+  {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept override {}
+
   void SetStatus(CanonicalCode /*code*/, nostd::string_view /*description*/) noexcept override {}
 
   void UpdateName(nostd::string_view /*name*/) noexcept override {}
diff --git a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/span.h b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/span.h
index 922f38fb92..1c575ce5a8 100644
--- a/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/span.h
+++ b/api/include/opentelemetry/trace/span.h
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "opentelemetry/nostd/unique_ptr.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/trace/canonical_code.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/trace/key_value_iterable_view.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/link.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/trace/span_context.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/version.h"
 
@@ -135,6 +136,37 @@ class Span
                        attributes.begin(), attributes.end()});
   }
 
+  /** Adds a Link to newly created Span
+   *  @param spanContext the context of the linked span
+   *  @param attributes Link attributes
+   *
+   *  These methods need to be called immediately after Span
+   *  creation. Specification doesn't allow adding links after
+   *  span creation.
+   */
+
+  virtual void AddLink(const trace::Link &link) noexcept = 0;
+
+  virtual void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context,
+                       const trace::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept = 0;
+
+  virtual void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept = 0;
+
+  template <class T, nostd::enable_if_t<detail::is_key_value_iterable<T>::value> * = nullptr>
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context, const T &attributes) noexcept
+  {
+    this->AddLink(span_context, KeyValueIterableView<T>{attributes});
+  }
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context,
+               std::initializer_list<std::pair<nostd::string_view, common::AttributeValue>>
+                   attributes) noexcept
+  {
+    this->AddLink(span_context,
+                  nostd::span<const std::pair<nostd::string_view, common::AttributeValue>>{
+                      attributes.begin(), attributes.end()});
+  }
+
   // Sets the status of the span. The default status is OK. Only the value of
   // the last call will be
   // recorded, and implementations are free to ignore previous calls.
diff --git a/api/test/trace/noop_test.cc b/api/test/trace/noop_test.cc
index 4a069430ef..7de08f6204 100644
--- a/api/test/trace/noop_test.cc
+++ b/api/test/trace/noop_test.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include "opentelemetry/trace/noop.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/core/timestamp.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/key_value_iterable_view.h"
 
 #include <map>
 #include <memory>
@@ -31,6 +32,14 @@ TEST(NoopTest, UseNoopTracers)
   s1->SetAttribute("abc", 4);
 
   s1->AddEvent("abc");  // add Empty
+  SpanContext sp(false, false);
+  s1->AddLink(sp);
+  using M = std::map<std::string, std::string>;
+  M m1    = {{"abc", "123"}, {"xyz", "456"}};
+  opentelemetry::trace::KeyValueIterableView<M> iterable{m1};
+
+  s1->AddLink(sp, iterable);
+  s1->AddLink(sp, {{"abc", "123"}, {"xyz", "456"}});
 
   EXPECT_EQ(s1->IsRecording(), false);
 
diff --git a/examples/plugin/plugin/tracer.cc b/examples/plugin/plugin/tracer.cc
index e8f324c9e7..dff22598b9 100644
--- a/examples/plugin/plugin/tracer.cc
+++ b/examples/plugin/plugin/tracer.cc
@@ -42,6 +42,14 @@ class Span final : public trace::Span
                 const trace::KeyValueIterable & /*attributes*/) noexcept override
   {}
 
+  void AddLink(const trace::Link &link) noexcept override {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context,
+               const trace::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override
+  {}
+
+  void AddLink(const trace::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept override {}
+
   void SetStatus(trace::CanonicalCode /*code*/,
                  nostd::string_view /*description*/) noexcept override
   {}
diff --git a/ext/include/opentelemetry/ext/zpages/threadsafe_span_data.h b/ext/include/opentelemetry/ext/zpages/threadsafe_span_data.h
index 1c7595aae6..60301b2288 100644
--- a/ext/include/opentelemetry/ext/zpages/threadsafe_span_data.h
+++ b/ext/include/opentelemetry/ext/zpages/threadsafe_span_data.h
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ class ThreadsafeSpanData final : public opentelemetry::sdk::trace::Recordable
   }
 
   void AddLink(
-      opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context,
+      const opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext &span_context,
       const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes =
           trace_api::KeyValueIterableView<std::map<std::string, int>>({})) noexcept override
   {
diff --git a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/link.h b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/link.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1488d1501c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/link.h
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/attribute_utils.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/trace/link.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/version.h"
+
+#include <memory>
+
+OPENTELEMETRY_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
+namespace sdk
+{
+namespace trace
+{
+namespace trace_api = opentelemetry::trace;
+
+class Link final : public trace_api::Link
+{
+public:
+  Link(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context,
+       const opentelemetry::trace::KeyValueIterableView<
+           std::unordered_map<nostd::string_view, opentelemetry::common::AttributeValue>>
+           &attributes) noexcept
+      : span_context_(span_context), attribute_map_{attributes}
+  {}
+
+  Link(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context)
+      : span_context_(span_context),
+        attribute_map_(
+            std::unordered_map<nostd::string_view, opentelemetry::common::AttributeValue>())
+  {}
+
+  const trace_api::SpanContext &GetContext() const noexcept override { return span_context_; }
+
+  const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &GetAttributes() const noexcept override
+  {
+    return attribute_map_;
+  }
+
+private:
+  trace_api::SpanContext span_context_;
+  const trace_api::KeyValueIterableView<
+      std::unordered_map<nostd::string_view, opentelemetry::common::AttributeValue>>
+      attribute_map_;
+};
+}  // namespace trace
+}  // namespace sdk
+OPENTELEMETRY_END_NAMESPACE
diff --git a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/recordable.h b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/recordable.h
index 68124db0e6..7653b3a0cb 100644
--- a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/recordable.h
+++ b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/recordable.h
@@ -82,14 +82,14 @@ class Recordable
    * @param span_context the span context of the linked span
    * @param attributes the attributes associated with the link
    */
-  virtual void AddLink(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context,
+  virtual void AddLink(const opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext &span_context,
                        const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept = 0;
 
   /**
    * Add a link to a span with default (empty) attributes.
    * @param span_context the span context of the linked span
    */
-  void AddLink(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context)
+  void AddLink(const opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext &span_context)
   {
     AddLink(span_context, opentelemetry::sdk::GetEmptyAttributes());
   }
diff --git a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/span_data.h b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/span_data.h
index b745a3f33f..82c3ac95d4 100644
--- a/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/span_data.h
+++ b/sdk/include/opentelemetry/sdk/trace/span_data.h
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ class SpanDataEvent
 class SpanDataLink
 {
 public:
-  SpanDataLink(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context,
+  SpanDataLink(const opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext &span_context,
                const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes)
       : span_context_(span_context), attribute_map_(attributes)
   {}
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ class SpanData final : public Recordable
     events_.push_back(event);
   }
 
-  void AddLink(opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext span_context,
+  void AddLink(const opentelemetry::trace::SpanContext &span_context,
                const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override
   {
     SpanDataLink link(span_context, attributes);
diff --git a/sdk/src/trace/span.cc b/sdk/src/trace/span.cc
index 0f661d8ef6..79bc3a9264 100644
--- a/sdk/src/trace/span.cc
+++ b/sdk/src/trace/span.cc
@@ -62,13 +62,15 @@ Span::Span(std::shared_ptr<Tracer> &&tracer,
            nostd::string_view name,
            const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes,
            const trace_api::StartSpanOptions &options,
-           const trace_api::SpanContext &parent_span_context) noexcept
+           const trace_api::SpanContext &parent_span_context,
+           const nostd::span<std::shared_ptr<trace_api::Link>> &links) noexcept
     : tracer_{std::move(tracer)},
       processor_{processor},
       recordable_{processor_->MakeRecordable()},
       start_steady_time{options.start_steady_time},
       has_ended_{false}
 {
+  (void)options;
   if (recordable_ == nullptr)
   {
     return;
@@ -98,6 +100,11 @@ Span::Span(std::shared_ptr<Tracer> &&tracer,
     return true;
   });
 
+  for (auto &link : links)
+  {
+    recordable_->AddLink(link->GetContext(), link->GetAttributes());
+  }
+
   recordable_->SetStartTime(NowOr(options.start_system_time));
   start_steady_time = NowOr(options.start_steady_time);
   processor_->OnStart(*recordable_);
@@ -136,6 +143,34 @@ void Span::AddEvent(nostd::string_view name,
   (void)attributes;
 }
 
+void Span::AddLink(const trace_api::Link &link) noexcept
+{
+  if (recordable_ == nullptr)
+  {
+    return;
+  }
+  recordable_->AddLink(link.GetContext(), link.GetAttributes());
+}
+
+void Span::AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &span_context,
+                   const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept
+{
+  if (recordable_ == nullptr)
+  {
+    return;
+  }
+  recordable_->AddLink(span_context, attributes);
+}
+
+void Span::AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept
+{
+  if (recordable_ == nullptr)
+  {
+    return;
+  }
+  recordable_->AddLink(span_context);
+}
+
 void Span::SetStatus(trace_api::CanonicalCode code, nostd::string_view description) noexcept
 {
   std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock_guard{mu_};
diff --git a/sdk/src/trace/span.h b/sdk/src/trace/span.h
index 56baf8838f..09041b1ff1 100644
--- a/sdk/src/trace/span.h
+++ b/sdk/src/trace/span.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include <mutex>
 
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/link.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/tracer.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/version.h"
 
@@ -20,7 +21,8 @@ class Span final : public trace_api::Span
                 nostd::string_view name,
                 const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes,
                 const trace_api::StartSpanOptions &options,
-                const trace_api::SpanContext &parent_span_context) noexcept;
+                const trace_api::SpanContext &parent_span_context,
+                const nostd::span<std::shared_ptr<trace_api::Link>> &links) noexcept;
 
   ~Span() override;
 
@@ -35,6 +37,13 @@ class Span final : public trace_api::Span
                 core::SystemTimestamp timestamp,
                 const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override;
 
+  void AddLink(const trace_api::Link &link) noexcept override;
+
+  void AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &span_context,
+               const trace_api::KeyValueIterable &attributes) noexcept override;
+
+  void AddLink(const trace_api::SpanContext &span_context) noexcept override;
+
   void SetStatus(trace_api::CanonicalCode code, nostd::string_view description) noexcept override;
 
   void UpdateName(nostd::string_view name) noexcept override;
diff --git a/sdk/src/trace/tracer.cc b/sdk/src/trace/tracer.cc
index 60b00f191c..eaeada03f9 100644
--- a/sdk/src/trace/tracer.cc
+++ b/sdk/src/trace/tracer.cc
@@ -61,9 +61,13 @@ nostd::shared_ptr<trace_api::Span> Tracer::StartSpan(
   }
   else
   {
-    auto span = nostd::shared_ptr<trace_api::Span>{
-        new (std::nothrow) Span{this->shared_from_this(), processor_.load(), name, attributes,
-                                options, GetCurrentSpanContext()}};
+    auto span = nostd::shared_ptr<trace_api::Span>{new (std::nothrow) Span{this->shared_from_this(),
+                                                                           processor_.load(),
+                                                                           name,
+                                                                           attributes,
+                                                                           options,
+                                                                           GetCurrentSpanContext(),
+                                                                           {}}};
 
     // if the attributes is not nullptr, add attributes to the span.
     if (sampling_result.attributes)
diff --git a/sdk/test/trace/tracer_test.cc b/sdk/test/trace/tracer_test.cc
index ba196c67c1..5c5fff3fc7 100644
--- a/sdk/test/trace/tracer_test.cc
+++ b/sdk/test/trace/tracer_test.cc
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/tracer.h"
+#include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/link.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/samplers/always_off.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/samplers/always_on.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/trace/samplers/parent_or_else.h"
@@ -341,6 +342,24 @@ TEST(Tracer, SpanSetAttribute)
   ASSERT_EQ(3.1, nostd::get<double>(span_data->GetAttributes().at("abc")));
 }
 
+TEST(Tracer, SpanAddLink)
+{
+  std::shared_ptr<std::vector<std::unique_ptr<SpanData>>> spans_received(
+      new std::vector<std::unique_ptr<SpanData>>);
+  auto tracer = initTracer(spans_received);
+
+  auto span = tracer->StartSpan("span 1");
+
+  SpanContext sp1(true, true);
+  span->AddLink(sp1);
+
+  span->End();
+  ASSERT_EQ(1, spans_received->size());
+  auto &span_data = spans_received->at(0);
+
+  ASSERT_EQ(1, span_data->GetLinks().size());
+}
+
 TEST(Tracer, TestAlwaysOnSampler)
 {
   std::shared_ptr<std::vector<std::unique_ptr<SpanData>>> spans_received(