diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/diff.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/diff.go
index 5c47744389b..9da6888f11b 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/diff.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/diff.go
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
+	"k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/printers"
+
 	"github.com/jonboulle/clockwork"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
@@ -107,15 +110,25 @@ type DiffOptions struct {
 	FieldManager    string
 	ForceConflicts  bool
 
-	Selector         string
-	OpenAPISchema    openapi.Resources
-	DiscoveryClient  discovery.DiscoveryInterface
-	DynamicClient    dynamic.Interface
-	DryRunVerifier   *resource.DryRunVerifier
-	CmdNamespace     string
-	EnforceNamespace bool
-	Builder          *resource.Builder
-	Diff             *DiffProgram
+	Selector          string
+	OpenAPISchema     openapi.Resources
+	DiscoveryClient   discovery.DiscoveryInterface
+	DynamicClient     dynamic.Interface
+	DryRunVerifier    *resource.DryRunVerifier
+	CmdNamespace      string
+	EnforceNamespace  bool
+	Builder           *resource.Builder
+	Diff              *DiffProgram
+	Mapper            meta.RESTMapper
+	Prune             bool
+	PruneResources    []pruneResource
+	VisitedUids       sets.String
+	VisitedNamespaces sets.String
+	ToPrinter         func(string) (printers.ResourcePrinter, error)
+	PrintFlags        *genericclioptions.PrintFlags
+	All               bool
+	PruneWhitelist    []string
+	genericclioptions.IOStreams
 }
 
 func validateArgs(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
@@ -131,6 +144,10 @@ func NewDiffOptions(ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *DiffOptions {
 			Exec:      exec.New(),
 			IOStreams: ioStreams,
 		},
+		VisitedUids:       sets.NewString(),
+		VisitedNamespaces: sets.NewString(),
+		PrintFlags:        genericclioptions.NewPrintFlags("created").WithTypeSetter(scheme.Scheme),
+		IOStreams:         ioStreams,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -145,6 +162,7 @@ func NewCmdDiff(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			cmdutil.CheckDiffErr(options.Complete(f, cmd))
 			cmdutil.CheckDiffErr(validateArgs(cmd, args))
+			cmdutil.CheckErr(validatePruneAll(options.Prune, options.All, options.Selector))
 			// `kubectl diff` propagates the error code from
 			// diff or `KUBECTL_EXTERNAL_DIFF`. Also, we
 			// don't want to print an error if diff returns
@@ -170,6 +188,9 @@ func NewCmdDiff(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 
 	usage := "contains the configuration to diff"
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&options.Selector, "selector", "l", options.Selector, "Selector (label query) to filter on, supports '=', '==', and '!='.(e.g. -l key1=value1,key2=value2)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringArrayVar(&options.PruneWhitelist, "prune-whitelist", options.PruneWhitelist, "Overwrite the default whitelist with <group/version/kind> for --prune")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&options.Prune, "prune", options.Prune, "Automatically diff for possibly will be deleted resource objects, Should be used with either -l or --all.")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&options.All, "all", options.All, "Select all resources in the namespace of the specified resource types.")
 	cmdutil.AddFilenameOptionFlags(cmd, &options.FilenameOptions, usage)
 	cmdutil.AddServerSideApplyFlags(cmd)
 	cmdutil.AddFieldManagerFlagVar(cmd, &options.FieldManager, apply.FieldManagerClientSideApply)
@@ -177,6 +198,16 @@ func NewCmdDiff(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 	return cmd
 }
 
+func validatePruneAll(prune, all bool, selector string) error {
+	if all && len(selector) > 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot set --all and --selector at the same time")
+	}
+	if prune && !all && selector == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("all resources selected for prune without explicitly passing --all. To prune all resources, pass the --all flag. If you did not mean to prune all resources, specify a label selector")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // DiffProgram finds and run the diff program. The value of
 // KUBECTL_EXTERNAL_DIFF environment variable will be used a diff
 // program. By default, `diff(1)` will be used.
@@ -618,6 +649,12 @@ func (o *DiffOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("--force-conflicts only works with --server-side")
 	}
 
+	o.ToPrinter = func(operation string) (printers.ResourcePrinter, error) {
+		o.PrintFlags.NamePrintFlags.Operation = operation
+		cmdutil.PrintFlagsWithDryRunStrategy(o.PrintFlags, cmdutil.DryRunServer)
+		return o.PrintFlags.ToPrinter()
+	}
+
 	if !o.ServerSideApply {
 		o.OpenAPISchema, err = f.OpenAPISchema()
 		if err != nil {
@@ -642,6 +679,18 @@ func (o *DiffOptions) Complete(f cmdutil.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if o.Prune {
+		o.Mapper, err = f.ToRESTMapper()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		o.PruneResources, err = parsePruneResources(o.Mapper, o.PruneWhitelist)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
 	o.Builder = f.NewBuilder()
 	return nil
 }
@@ -708,6 +757,8 @@ func (o *DiffOptions) Run() error {
 			}
 
 			err = differ.Diff(obj, printer)
+			o.MarkNamespaceVisited(info)
+			o.MarkObjectVisited(info)
 			if !isConflict(err) {
 				break
 			}
@@ -717,9 +768,34 @@ func (o *DiffOptions) Run() error {
 
 		return err
 	})
+
+	if o.Prune {
+		prune := newPruner(o)
+		prune.pruneAll(o)
+	}
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
 	return differ.Run(o.Diff)
 }
+
+// MarkObjectVisited keeps track of UIDs of the applied
+// objects. Used for pruning.
+func (o *DiffOptions) MarkObjectVisited(info *resource.Info) error {
+	metadata, err := meta.Accessor(info.Object)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	o.VisitedUids.Insert(string(metadata.GetUID()))
+	return nil
+}
+
+// MarkNamespaceVisited keeps track of which namespaces the applied
+// objects belong to. Used for pruning.
+func (o *DiffOptions) MarkNamespaceVisited(info *resource.Info) {
+	if info.Namespaced() {
+		o.VisitedNamespaces.Insert(info.Namespace)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..99086429003
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune.go
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package diff
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
+
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
+	"k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/printers"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
+)
+
+type pruner struct {
+	mapper        meta.RESTMapper
+	dynamicClient dynamic.Interface
+
+	visitedUids       sets.String
+	visitedNamespaces sets.String
+	labelSelector     string
+	fieldSelector     string
+
+	cascadingStrategy metav1.DeletionPropagation
+	gracePeriod       int
+
+	toPrinter func(string) (printers.ResourcePrinter, error)
+
+	out io.Writer
+}
+
+func newPruner(o *DiffOptions) pruner {
+	return pruner{
+		mapper:        o.Mapper,
+		dynamicClient: o.DynamicClient,
+
+		labelSelector:     o.Selector,
+		visitedUids:       o.VisitedUids,
+		visitedNamespaces: o.VisitedNamespaces,
+
+		toPrinter: o.ToPrinter,
+
+		cascadingStrategy: metav1.DeletePropagationBackground,
+		gracePeriod:       -1,
+
+		out: o.ErrOut,
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *pruner) pruneAll(o *DiffOptions) error {
+
+	namespacedRESTMappings, nonNamespacedRESTMappings, err := getRESTMappings(o.Mapper, &(o.PruneResources))
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving RESTMappings to prune: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	for n := range p.visitedNamespaces {
+		for _, m := range namespacedRESTMappings {
+			if err := p.prune(n, m); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("error pruning namespaced object %v: %v", m.GroupVersionKind, err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, m := range nonNamespacedRESTMappings {
+		if err := p.prune(metav1.NamespaceNone, m); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error pruning nonNamespaced object %v: %v", m.GroupVersionKind, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *pruner) prune(namespace string, mapping *meta.RESTMapping) error {
+	objList, err := p.dynamicClient.Resource(mapping.Resource).
+		Namespace(namespace).
+		List(context.TODO(), metav1.ListOptions{
+			LabelSelector: p.labelSelector,
+			FieldSelector: p.fieldSelector,
+		})
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	objs, err := meta.ExtractList(objList)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	for _, obj := range objs {
+		metadata, err := meta.Accessor(obj)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		annots := metadata.GetAnnotations()
+		if _, ok := annots[corev1.LastAppliedConfigAnnotation]; !ok {
+			// don't prune resources not created with apply
+			continue
+		}
+		uid := metadata.GetUID()
+		if p.visitedUids.Has(string(uid)) {
+			continue
+		}
+		name := metadata.GetName()
+		if err := p.delete(namespace, name, mapping); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		printer, err := p.toPrinter("pruned")
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		printer.PrintObj(obj, p.out)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *pruner) delete(namespace, name string, mapping *meta.RESTMapping) error {
+	return runDelete(namespace, name, mapping, p.dynamicClient, p.cascadingStrategy, p.gracePeriod, true)
+}
+
+func runDelete(namespace, name string, mapping *meta.RESTMapping, c dynamic.Interface, cascadingStrategy metav1.DeletionPropagation, gracePeriod int, serverDryRun bool) error {
+	options := asDeleteOptions(cascadingStrategy, gracePeriod)
+	if serverDryRun {
+		options.DryRun = []string{metav1.DryRunAll}
+	}
+	return c.Resource(mapping.Resource).Namespace(namespace).Delete(context.TODO(), name, options)
+}
+
+func asDeleteOptions(cascadingStrategy metav1.DeletionPropagation, gracePeriod int) metav1.DeleteOptions {
+	options := metav1.DeleteOptions{}
+	if gracePeriod >= 0 {
+		options = *metav1.NewDeleteOptions(int64(gracePeriod))
+	}
+	options.PropagationPolicy = &cascadingStrategy
+	return options
+}
+
+type pruneResource struct {
+	group      string
+	version    string
+	kind       string
+	namespaced bool
+}
+
+func (pr pruneResource) String() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%v/%v, Kind=%v, Namespaced=%v", pr.group, pr.version, pr.kind, pr.namespaced)
+}
+
+func getRESTMappings(mapper meta.RESTMapper, pruneResources *[]pruneResource) (namespaced, nonNamespaced []*meta.RESTMapping, err error) {
+	if len(*pruneResources) == 0 {
+		// default allowlist
+		*pruneResources = []pruneResource{
+			{"", "v1", "ConfigMap", true},
+			{"", "v1", "Endpoints", true},
+			{"", "v1", "Namespace", false},
+			{"", "v1", "PersistentVolumeClaim", true},
+			{"", "v1", "PersistentVolume", false},
+			{"", "v1", "Pod", true},
+			{"", "v1", "ReplicationController", true},
+			{"", "v1", "Secret", true},
+			{"", "v1", "Service", true},
+			{"batch", "v1", "Job", true},
+			{"batch", "v1", "CronJob", true},
+			{"networking.k8s.io", "v1", "Ingress", true},
+			{"apps", "v1", "DaemonSet", true},
+			{"apps", "v1", "Deployment", true},
+			{"apps", "v1", "ReplicaSet", true},
+			{"apps", "v1", "StatefulSet", true},
+		}
+	}
+
+	for _, resource := range *pruneResources {
+		addedMapping, err := mapper.RESTMapping(schema.GroupKind{Group: resource.group, Kind: resource.kind}, resource.version)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid resource %v: %v", resource, err)
+		}
+		if resource.namespaced {
+			namespaced = append(namespaced, addedMapping)
+		} else {
+			nonNamespaced = append(nonNamespaced, addedMapping)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return namespaced, nonNamespaced, nil
+}
+
+func parsePruneResources(mapper meta.RESTMapper, gvks []string) ([]pruneResource, error) {
+	pruneResources := []pruneResource{}
+	for _, groupVersionKind := range gvks {
+		gvk := strings.Split(groupVersionKind, "/")
+		if len(gvk) != 3 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid GroupVersionKind format: %v, please follow <group/version/kind>", groupVersionKind)
+		}
+
+		if gvk[0] == "core" {
+			gvk[0] = ""
+		}
+		mapping, err := mapper.RESTMapping(schema.GroupKind{Group: gvk[0], Kind: gvk[2]}, gvk[1])
+		if err != nil {
+			return pruneResources, err
+		}
+		var namespaced bool
+		namespaceScope := mapping.Scope.Name()
+		switch namespaceScope {
+		case meta.RESTScopeNameNamespace:
+			namespaced = true
+		case meta.RESTScopeNameRoot:
+			namespaced = false
+		default:
+			return pruneResources, fmt.Errorf("Unknown namespace scope: %q", namespaceScope)
+		}
+
+		pruneResources = append(pruneResources, pruneResource{gvk[0], gvk[1], gvk[2], namespaced})
+	}
+	return pruneResources, nil
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b6a59c95c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/diff/prune_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2017 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package diff
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
+)
+
+type testRESTMapper struct {
+	meta.RESTMapper
+	scope meta.RESTScope
+}
+
+func (m *testRESTMapper) RESTMapping(gk schema.GroupKind, versions ...string) (*meta.RESTMapping, error) {
+	return &meta.RESTMapping{
+		Resource: schema.GroupVersionResource{
+			Group:    gk.Group,
+			Version:  "",
+			Resource: "",
+		},
+		GroupVersionKind: schema.GroupVersionKind{
+			Group:   gk.Group,
+			Version: "",
+			Kind:    gk.Kind,
+		},
+		Scope: m.scope,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func TestParsePruneResources(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		mapper   *testRESTMapper
+		gvks     []string
+		expected []pruneResource
+		err      bool
+	}{
+		{
+			mapper: &testRESTMapper{
+				scope: meta.RESTScopeNamespace,
+			},
+			gvks:     nil,
+			expected: []pruneResource{},
+			err:      false,
+		},
+		{
+			mapper: &testRESTMapper{
+				scope: meta.RESTScopeNamespace,
+			},
+			gvks:     []string{"group/kind/version/test"},
+			expected: []pruneResource{},
+			err:      true,
+		},
+		{
+			mapper: &testRESTMapper{
+				scope: meta.RESTScopeNamespace,
+			},
+			gvks:     []string{"group/kind/version"},
+			expected: []pruneResource{{group: "group", version: "kind", kind: "version", namespaced: true}},
+			err:      false,
+		},
+		{
+			mapper: &testRESTMapper{
+				scope: meta.RESTScopeRoot,
+			},
+			gvks:     []string{"group/kind/version"},
+			expected: []pruneResource{{group: "group", version: "kind", kind: "version", namespaced: false}},
+			err:      false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		actual, err := parsePruneResources(tc.mapper, tc.gvks)
+		if tc.err {
+			assert.NotEmptyf(t, err, "parsePruneResources error expected but not fired")
+		} else {
+			assert.Equal(t, actual, tc.expected, "parsePruneResources failed expected %v actual %v", tc.expected, actual)
+		}
+	}
+}