diff --git a/llvm/docs/CommandGuide/llvm-cov.rst b/llvm/docs/CommandGuide/llvm-cov.rst
--- a/llvm/docs/CommandGuide/llvm-cov.rst
+++ b/llvm/docs/CommandGuide/llvm-cov.rst
@@ -264,6 +264,13 @@
 
  Skip source code files with file paths that match the given regular expression.
 
+.. option:: -ignore-symlinks
+
+ Do not follow symbolic links to detect the same file. Following symbolic links
+ will generate an accurate report, but this could slow down processing time.
+ Thus, compare path strings only after normalization instead of following
+ symbolic links.
+
 .. option:: -format=<FORMAT>
 
  Use the specified output format. The supported formats are: "text", "html".
diff --git a/llvm/test/tools/llvm-cov/sources-specified.test b/llvm/test/tools/llvm-cov/sources-specified.test
--- a/llvm/test/tools/llvm-cov/sources-specified.test
+++ b/llvm/test/tools/llvm-cov/sources-specified.test
@@ -10,6 +10,14 @@
 RUN:   %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.cc %S/Inputs/sources_specified/extra \
 RUN:   | FileCheck -check-prefix=SHOW %s
 
+# It has to produce the same result even if --ignore-symlinks is given.
+RUN: llvm-cov show -instr-profile %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.profdata \
+RUN:   -path-equivalence=/tmp,%S/Inputs \
+RUN:   -ignore-symlinks \
+RUN:   %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.covmapping \
+RUN:   %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.cc %S/Inputs/sources_specified/extra \
+RUN:   | FileCheck -check-prefix=SYMLINK %s
+
 # Don't include all source files when provided source files are filtered out.
 RUN: llvm-cov show -instr-profile %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.profdata \
 RUN:   -path-equivalence=/tmp,%S/Inputs \
@@ -32,6 +40,11 @@
 SHOW: {{.*}}sources_specified{{.*}}
 SHOW: {{.*}}sources_specified{{.*}}
 
+# Order of files may differ, check that there are 3 files and not abs.h.
+SYMLINK-NOT: {{.*}}abs.h{{.*}}
+SYMLINK: {{.*}}sources_specified{{.*}}
+SYMLINK: {{.*}}sources_specified{{.*}}
+SYMLINK: {{.*}}sources_specified{{.*}}
 
 # Test "export" command. Use a temp .json file as output is a single line.
 RUN: llvm-cov export -instr-profile %S/Inputs/sources_specified/main.profdata \
diff --git a/llvm/tools/llvm-cov/CodeCoverage.cpp b/llvm/tools/llvm-cov/CodeCoverage.cpp
--- a/llvm/tools/llvm-cov/CodeCoverage.cpp
+++ b/llvm/tools/llvm-cov/CodeCoverage.cpp
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@
   /// directory, recursively collect all of the paths within the directory.
   void collectPaths(const std::string &Path);
 
+  /// Check if the two given two files are the same file.
+  bool isEquivalentFile(StringRef FilePath1, StringRef FilePath2);
+
   /// Return a memory buffer for the given source file.
   ErrorOr<const MemoryBuffer &> getSourceFile(StringRef SourceFile);
 
@@ -135,6 +138,7 @@
   CoverageViewOptions ViewOpts;
   CoverageFiltersMatchAll Filters;
   CoverageFilters IgnoreFilenameFilters;
+  bool ComparePathStringOnly = false;
 
   /// True if InputSourceFiles are provided.
   bool HadSourceFiles = false;
@@ -239,6 +243,14 @@
   }
 }
 
+bool CodeCoverageTool::isEquivalentFile(StringRef FilePath1,
+                                        StringRef FilePath2) {
+  if (ComparePathStringOnly)
+    return FilePath1 == FilePath2;
+
+  return sys::fs::equivalent(FilePath1, FilePath2);
+}
+
 ErrorOr<const MemoryBuffer &>
 CodeCoverageTool::getSourceFile(StringRef SourceFile) {
   // If we've remapped filenames, look up the real location for this file.
@@ -248,9 +260,16 @@
     if (Loc != RemappedFilenames.end())
       SourceFile = Loc->second;
   }
+
+  SmallString<256> NormalizedPath;
+  sys::path::native(SourceFile, NormalizedPath);
+  sys::path::remove_dots(NormalizedPath, true);
+  SourceFile = NormalizedPath;
+
   for (const auto &Files : LoadedSourceFiles)
-    if (sys::fs::equivalent(SourceFile, Files.first))
+    if (isEquivalentFile(SourceFile, Files.first))
       return *Files.second;
+
   auto Buffer = MemoryBuffer::getFile(SourceFile);
   if (auto EC = Buffer.getError()) {
     error(EC.message(), SourceFile);
@@ -654,6 +673,12 @@
                "regular expression"),
       cl::ZeroOrMore, cl::cat(FilteringCategory));
 
+  cl::opt<bool> IgnoreSymlinks(
+      "ignore-symlinks", cl::Optional,
+      cl::desc("Do not follow symlinks to check file equivalence. "
+               "Use only normalized path strings to find the same file."),
+      cl::init(false));
+
   cl::opt<double> RegionCoverageLtFilter(
       "region-coverage-lt", cl::Optional,
       cl::desc("Show code coverage only for functions with region coverage "
@@ -838,6 +863,7 @@
       ::exit(0);
     }
 
+    ComparePathStringOnly = IgnoreSymlinks;
     ViewOpts.ShowBranchSummary = BranchSummary;
     ViewOpts.ShowRegionSummary = RegionSummary;
     ViewOpts.ShowInstantiationSummary = InstantiationSummary;