diff --git a/docs/how-to/how-to-set-sandbox-config-kata.md b/docs/how-to/how-to-set-sandbox-config-kata.md
index 28d5ea788e..343b7fe2e6 100644
--- a/docs/how-to/how-to-set-sandbox-config-kata.md
+++ b/docs/how-to/how-to-set-sandbox-config-kata.md
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ There are several kinds of Kata configurations and they are listed below.
 | `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.virtio_fs_daemon` | string | virtio-fs `vhost-user` daemon path |
 | `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.virtio_fs_extra_args` | string | extra options passed to `virtiofs` daemon |
 | `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.enable_guest_swap` | `boolean` | enable swap in the guest |
+| `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.use_legacy_serial` | `boolean` | uses legacy serial device for guest's console (QEMU) |
 
 ## Container Options
 | Key | Value Type | Comments |
diff --git a/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils.go b/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils.go
index f72f1147e5..e6e4dcfe6f 100644
--- a/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils.go
+++ b/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils.go
@@ -474,6 +474,12 @@ func addHypervisorConfigOverrides(ocispec specs.Spec, config *vc.SandboxConfig,
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if err := newAnnotationConfiguration(ocispec, vcAnnotations.UseLegacySerial).setBool(func(useLegacySerial bool) {
+		config.HypervisorConfig.LegacySerial = useLegacySerial
+	}); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	if err := newAnnotationConfiguration(ocispec, vcAnnotations.PCIeRootPort).setUint(func(pcieRootPort uint64) {
 		config.HypervisorConfig.PCIeRootPort = uint32(pcieRootPort)
 	}); err != nil {
diff --git a/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils_test.go b/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils_test.go
index bfa71801d2..e6158a96eb 100644
--- a/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils_test.go
+++ b/src/runtime/pkg/oci/utils_test.go
@@ -670,6 +670,7 @@ func TestAddHypervisorAnnotations(t *testing.T) {
 	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.PCIeRootPort] = "2"
 	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.IOMMUPlatform] = "true"
 	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.SGXEPC] = "64Mi"
+	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.UseLegacySerial] = "true"
 	// 10Mbit
 	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.RxRateLimiterMaxRate] = "10000000"
 	ocispec.Annotations[vcAnnotations.TxRateLimiterMaxRate] = "10000000"
@@ -706,6 +707,7 @@ func TestAddHypervisorAnnotations(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.PCIeRootPort, uint32(2))
 	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.IOMMUPlatform, true)
 	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.SGXEPCSize, int64(67108864))
+	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.LegacySerial, true)
 	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.RxRateLimiterMaxRate, uint64(10000000))
 	assert.Equal(config.HypervisorConfig.TxRateLimiterMaxRate, uint64(10000000))
 
diff --git a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/annotations/annotations.go b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/annotations/annotations.go
index 5bd9b26db4..6618d0acdf 100644
--- a/src/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/annotations/annotations.go
+++ b/src/runtime/virtcontainers/pkg/annotations/annotations.go
@@ -130,6 +130,9 @@ const (
 	// entropy (/dev/random, /dev/urandom or real hardware RNG device)
 	EntropySource = kataAnnotHypervisorPrefix + "entropy_source"
 
+	// UseLegacySerial sets legacy serial device for guest console if available and implemented for architecture
+	UseLegacySerial = kataAnnotHypervisorPrefix + "use_legacy_serial"
+
 	//
 	//	CPU Annotations
 	//