diff --git a/CODEOWNERS b/CODEOWNERS
index 6f874da0cba..ecfafded26b 100644
--- a/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/CODEOWNERS
@@ -522,6 +522,7 @@
 /subsys/stats/                            @nvlsianpu
 /subsys/storage/                          @nvlsianpu
 /subsys/testsuite/                        @nashif
+/subsys/timing/                           @nashif @dcpleung
 /subsys/usb/                              @jfischer-phytec-iot @finikorg
 /tests/                                   @nashif
 /tests/application_development/libcxx/    @pabigot
diff --git a/boards/Kconfig b/boards/Kconfig
index 9e9b57bf342..cac3faa3a40 100644
--- a/boards/Kconfig
+++ b/boards/Kconfig
@@ -47,3 +47,9 @@ config QEMU_ICOUNT_SHIFT
 # There might not be any board options, hence the optional source
 osource "$(BOARD_DIR)/Kconfig"
 endmenu
+
+config BOARD_HAS_TIMING_FUNCTIONS
+	bool
+	help
+	  Should be selected if board provides custom method for retrieving
+	  timestamps and cycle count.
diff --git a/include/timing/timing.h b/include/timing/timing.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..059ead1b49d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/timing/timing.h
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 Intel Corporation.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+#ifndef ZEPHYR_INCLUDE_TIMING_TIMING_H_
+#define ZEPHYR_INCLUDE_TIMING_TIMING_H_
+
+#include <kernel.h>
+
+
+/**
+ * @brief Timing Measurement APIs
+ * @defgroup timing_api Timing APIs
+ * @{
+ */
+
+
+typedef uint64_t timing_t;
+
+/**
+ * @brief Initialize the timing subsystem.
+ *
+ * Perform the necessary steps to initialize the timing subsystem.
+ */
+void timing_init(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Signal the start of the timing information gathering.
+ *
+ * Signal to the timing subsystem that timing information
+ * will be gathered from this point forward.
+ */
+void timing_start(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Signal the end of the timing information gathering.
+ *
+ * Signal to the timing subsystem that timing information
+ * is no longer being gathered from this point forward.
+ */
+void timing_stop(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Return timing counter.
+ *
+ * @return Timing counter.
+ */
+timing_t timing_counter_get(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Get number of cycles between @p start and @p end.
+ *
+ * For some architectures or SoCs, the raw numbers from counter
+ * need to be scaled to obtain actual number of cycles.
+ *
+ * @param start Pointer to counter at start of a measured execution.
+ * @param end Pointer to counter at stop of a measured execution.
+ * @return Number of cycles between start and end.
+ */
+uint64_t timing_cycles_get(volatile timing_t *const start,
+					 volatile timing_t *const end);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Get frequency of counter used (in Hz).
+ *
+ * @return Frequency of counter used for timing in Hz.
+ */
+uint64_t timing_freq_get(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Convert number of @p cycles into nanoseconds.
+ *
+ * @param cycles Number of cycles
+ * @return Converted time value
+ */
+uint64_t timing_cycles_to_ns(uint64_t cycles);
+
+uint64_t timing_cycles_to_ns_avg(uint64_t cycles, uint32_t count);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Get frequency of counter used (in MHz).
+ *
+ * @return Frequency of counter used for timing in MHz.
+ */
+uint32_t timing_freq_get_mhz(void);
+
+/**
+ * @}
+ */
+#endif /* ZEPHYR_INCLUDE_TIMING_TIMING_H_ */
diff --git a/kernel/Kconfig b/kernel/Kconfig
index 14be7a3d390..8bf51289659 100644
--- a/kernel/Kconfig
+++ b/kernel/Kconfig
@@ -316,6 +316,7 @@ config BOOT_DELAY
 
 config EXECUTION_BENCHMARKING
 	bool "Timing metrics"
+	select TIMING_FUNCTIONS
 	help
 	  This option enables the tracking of various times inside the kernel
 	  the exact set of metrics being tracked is board-dependent.
diff --git a/soc/Kconfig b/soc/Kconfig
index 4e8db269477..dd472f31807 100644
--- a/soc/Kconfig
+++ b/soc/Kconfig
@@ -41,3 +41,9 @@ config SOC_DEPRECATED_RELEASE
 	  the Zephyr release that the SoC configuration will be removed.
 	  When set, any build for that SoC will generate a clearly visible
 	  deprecation warning.
+
+config SOC_HAS_TIMING_FUNCTIONS
+	bool
+	help
+	  Should be selected if SoC provides custom method for retrieving
+	  timestamps and cycle count.
diff --git a/subsys/Kconfig b/subsys/Kconfig
index 520a7830e36..93c5a3c35e0 100644
--- a/subsys/Kconfig
+++ b/subsys/Kconfig
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ source "subsys/settings/Kconfig"
 
 source "subsys/testsuite/Kconfig"
 
+source "subsys/timing/Kconfig"
+
 source "subsys/tracing/Kconfig"
 
 endmenu
diff --git a/subsys/timing/Kconfig b/subsys/timing/Kconfig
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8e4deff7440
--- /dev/null
+++ b/subsys/timing/Kconfig
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2020 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+config TIMING_FUNCTIONS
+	bool "Timing Functions"
+	help
+	  When enabled, timing related functions are compiled. This is
+	  useful for gathering timing on code execution.