diff --git a/lib/std/fs.zig b/lib/std/fs.zig
index f01bcb4f22..4a0f37b855 100644
--- a/lib/std/fs.zig
+++ b/lib/std/fs.zig
@@ -2949,8 +2949,12 @@ pub fn openSelfExe(flags: File.OpenFlags) OpenSelfExeError!File {
         return openFileAbsoluteZ("/proc/self/exe", flags);
     }
     if (builtin.os.tag == .windows) {
-        const wide_slice = selfExePathW();
-        const prefixed_path_w = try os.windows.wToPrefixedFileW(null, wide_slice);
+        // If ImagePathName is a symlink, then it will contain the path of the symlink,
+        // not the path that the symlink points to. However, because we are opening
+        // the file, we can let the openFileW call follow the symlink for us.
+        const image_path_unicode_string = &os.windows.peb().ProcessParameters.ImagePathName;
+        const image_path_name = image_path_unicode_string.Buffer[0 .. image_path_unicode_string.Length / 2 :0];
+        const prefixed_path_w = try os.windows.wToPrefixedFileW(null, image_path_name);
         return cwd().openFileW(prefixed_path_w.span(), flags);
     }
     // Use of MAX_PATH_BYTES here is valid as the resulting path is immediately
@@ -2977,7 +2981,7 @@ pub fn selfExePathAlloc(allocator: Allocator) ![]u8 {
     return allocator.dupe(u8, try selfExePath(&buf));
 }
 
-/// Get the path to the current executable.
+/// Get the path to the current executable. Follows symlinks.
 /// If you only need the directory, use selfExeDirPath.
 /// If you only want an open file handle, use openSelfExe.
 /// This function may return an error if the current executable
@@ -3060,21 +3064,21 @@ pub fn selfExePath(out_buffer: []u8) SelfExePathError![]u8 {
             return error.FileNotFound;
         },
         .windows => {
-            const utf16le_slice = selfExePathW();
-            // Trust that Windows gives us valid UTF-16LE.
-            const end_index = std.unicode.utf16leToUtf8(out_buffer, utf16le_slice) catch unreachable;
-            return out_buffer[0..end_index];
+            const image_path_unicode_string = &os.windows.peb().ProcessParameters.ImagePathName;
+            const image_path_name = image_path_unicode_string.Buffer[0 .. image_path_unicode_string.Length / 2 :0];
+
+            // If ImagePathName is a symlink, then it will contain the path of the
+            // symlink, not the path that the symlink points to. We want the path
+            // that the symlink points to, though, so we need to get the realpath.
+            const pathname_w = try os.windows.wToPrefixedFileW(null, image_path_name);
+            return std.fs.cwd().realpathW(pathname_w.span(), out_buffer);
         },
         .wasi => @compileError("std.fs.selfExePath not supported for WASI. Use std.fs.selfExePathAlloc instead."),
         else => @compileError("std.fs.selfExePath not supported for this target"),
     }
 }
 
-/// The result is UTF16LE-encoded.
-pub fn selfExePathW() [:0]const u16 {
-    const image_path_name = &os.windows.peb().ProcessParameters.ImagePathName;
-    return image_path_name.Buffer[0 .. image_path_name.Length / 2 :0];
-}
+pub const selfExePathW = @compileError("deprecated; use selfExePath instead");
 
 /// `selfExeDirPath` except allocates the result on the heap.
 /// Caller owns returned memory.
diff --git a/test/standalone.zig b/test/standalone.zig
index 6618986292..22b9dfba49 100644
--- a/test/standalone.zig
+++ b/test/standalone.zig
@@ -198,6 +198,10 @@ pub const build_cases = [_]BuildCase{
         .build_root = "test/standalone/windows_spawn",
         .import = @import("standalone/windows_spawn/build.zig"),
     },
+    .{
+        .build_root = "test/standalone/self_exe_symlink",
+        .import = @import("standalone/self_exe_symlink/build.zig"),
+    },
     .{
         .build_root = "test/standalone/c_compiler",
         .import = @import("standalone/c_compiler/build.zig"),
diff --git a/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/build.zig b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/build.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..10e0a6a512
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/build.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub const requires_symlinks = true;
+
+pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
+    const test_step = b.step("test", "Test it");
+    b.default_step = test_step;
+
+    const optimize: std.builtin.OptimizeMode = .Debug;
+    const target: std.zig.CrossTarget = .{};
+
+    // The test requires getFdPath in order to to get the path of the
+    // File returned by openSelfExe
+    if (!std.os.isGetFdPathSupportedOnTarget(target.getOs())) return;
+
+    const main = b.addExecutable(.{
+        .name = "main",
+        .root_source_file = .{ .path = "main.zig" },
+        .optimize = optimize,
+        .target = target,
+    });
+
+    const create_symlink_exe = b.addExecutable(.{
+        .name = "create-symlink",
+        .root_source_file = .{ .path = "create-symlink.zig" },
+        .optimize = optimize,
+        .target = target,
+    });
+
+    var run_create_symlink = b.addRunArtifact(create_symlink_exe);
+    run_create_symlink.addArtifactArg(main);
+    const symlink_path = run_create_symlink.addOutputFileArg("main-symlink");
+    run_create_symlink.expectExitCode(0);
+    run_create_symlink.skip_foreign_checks = true;
+
+    var run_from_symlink = std.Build.Step.Run.create(b, "run symlink");
+    run_from_symlink.addFileArg(symlink_path);
+    run_from_symlink.expectExitCode(0);
+    run_from_symlink.skip_foreign_checks = true;
+    run_from_symlink.step.dependOn(&run_create_symlink.step);
+
+    test_step.dependOn(&run_from_symlink.step);
+}
diff --git a/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/create-symlink.zig b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/create-symlink.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e558df04d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/create-symlink.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() anyerror!void {
+    var gpa = std.heap.GeneralPurposeAllocator(.{}){};
+    defer if (gpa.deinit() == .leak) @panic("found memory leaks");
+    const allocator = gpa.allocator();
+
+    var it = try std.process.argsWithAllocator(allocator);
+    defer it.deinit();
+    _ = it.next() orelse unreachable; // skip binary name
+    const exe_path = it.next() orelse unreachable;
+    const symlink_path = it.next() orelse unreachable;
+
+    try std.fs.cwd().symLink(exe_path, symlink_path, .{});
+}
diff --git a/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/main.zig b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/main.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d84860a8f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/standalone/self_exe_symlink/main.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var gpa = std.heap.GeneralPurposeAllocator(.{}){};
+    defer std.debug.assert(gpa.deinit() == .ok);
+    const allocator = gpa.allocator();
+
+    const self_path = try std.fs.selfExePathAlloc(allocator);
+    defer allocator.free(self_path);
+
+    var self_exe = try std.fs.openSelfExe(.{});
+    defer self_exe.close();
+    var buf: [std.fs.MAX_PATH_BYTES]u8 = undefined;
+    const self_exe_path = try std.os.getFdPath(self_exe.handle, &buf);
+
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings(self_exe_path, self_path);
+}