diff --git a/lld/wasm/MarkLive.cpp b/lld/wasm/MarkLive.cpp
--- a/lld/wasm/MarkLive.cpp
+++ b/lld/wasm/MarkLive.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@
 #include "SymbolTable.h"
 #include "Symbols.h"
 
+#include "lld/Common/CommonLinkerContext.h"
+#include "lld/Common/Strings.h"
+
 #define DEBUG_TYPE "lld"
 
 using namespace llvm;
@@ -98,10 +101,23 @@
     enqueue(WasmSym::callDtors);
 
   // Enqueue constructors in objects explicitly live from the command-line.
-  for (const ObjFile *obj : symtab->objectFiles)
-    if (obj->isLive())
+  for (const ObjFile *obj : symtab->objectFiles) {
+    if (obj->isLive()) {
       enqueueInitFunctions(obj);
 
+      // If the `__start_` symbol for a given segment is referenced then keep
+      // all of its contents alive.
+      for (InputChunk *seg : obj->segments) {
+        if (isValidCIdentifier(seg->name)) {
+          StringRef name = saver().save("__start_" + seg->name);
+          if (symtab->find(name) || config->exportedSymbols.count(name) != 0) {
+            seg->live = true;
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   mark();
 
   // If we have any non-discarded init functions, mark `__wasm_call_ctors` as