diff --git a/hw/block/trace-events b/hw/block/trace-events
index 89e258319c..55e5a5500c 100644
--- a/hw/block/trace-events
+++ b/hw/block/trace-events
@@ -137,3 +137,7 @@ xen_disk_realize(void) ""
 xen_disk_unrealize(void) ""
 xen_cdrom_realize(void) ""
 xen_cdrom_unrealize(void) ""
+xen_block_blockdev_add(char *str) "%s"
+xen_block_blockdev_del(const char *node_name) "%s"
+xen_block_device_create(unsigned int number) "%u"
+xen_block_device_destroy(unsigned int number) "%u"
diff --git a/hw/block/xen-block.c b/hw/block/xen-block.c
index a7c37c185a..1e34fe1527 100644
--- a/hw/block/xen-block.c
+++ b/hw/block/xen-block.c
@@ -7,12 +7,20 @@
 
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "qemu/cutils.h"
+#include "qemu/option.h"
 #include "qapi/error.h"
+#include "qapi/qapi-commands-block-core.h"
+#include "qapi/qapi-commands-misc.h"
+#include "qapi/qapi-visit-block-core.h"
+#include "qapi/qobject-input-visitor.h"
 #include "qapi/visitor.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qstring.h"
 #include "hw/hw.h"
 #include "hw/xen/xen_common.h"
 #include "hw/block/xen_blkif.h"
 #include "hw/xen/xen-block.h"
+#include "hw/xen/xen-backend.h"
 #include "sysemu/blockdev.h"
 #include "sysemu/block-backend.h"
 #include "sysemu/iothread.h"
@@ -474,6 +482,7 @@ static void xen_block_class_init(ObjectClass *class, void *data)
     DeviceClass *dev_class = DEVICE_CLASS(class);
     XenDeviceClass *xendev_class = XEN_DEVICE_CLASS(class);
 
+    xendev_class->backend = "qdisk";
     xendev_class->device = "vbd";
     xendev_class->get_name = xen_block_get_name;
     xendev_class->realize = xen_block_realize;
@@ -586,3 +595,398 @@ static void xen_block_register_types(void)
 }
 
 type_init(xen_block_register_types)
+
+static void xen_block_blockdev_del(const char *node_name, Error **errp)
+{
+    trace_xen_block_blockdev_del(node_name);
+
+    qmp_blockdev_del(node_name, errp);
+}
+
+static char *xen_block_blockdev_add(const char *id, QDict *qdict,
+                                    Error **errp)
+{
+    const char *driver = qdict_get_try_str(qdict, "driver");
+    BlockdevOptions *options = NULL;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+    char *node_name;
+    Visitor *v;
+
+    if (!driver) {
+        error_setg(errp, "no 'driver' parameter");
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    node_name = g_strdup_printf("%s-%s", id, driver);
+    qdict_put_str(qdict, "node-name", node_name);
+
+    trace_xen_block_blockdev_add(node_name);
+
+    v = qobject_input_visitor_new(QOBJECT(qdict));
+    visit_type_BlockdevOptions(v, NULL, &options, &local_err);
+    visit_free(v);
+
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    qmp_blockdev_add(options, &local_err);
+
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    qapi_free_BlockdevOptions(options);
+
+    return node_name;
+
+fail:
+    if (options) {
+        qapi_free_BlockdevOptions(options);
+    }
+    g_free(node_name);
+
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+static void xen_block_drive_destroy(XenBlockDrive *drive, Error **errp)
+{
+    while (drive->layers-- != 0) {
+        char *node_name = drive->node_name[drive->layers];
+        Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+        xen_block_blockdev_del(node_name, &local_err);
+        if (local_err) {
+            error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+            drive->layers++;
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    g_free(drive->id);
+    g_free(drive);
+}
+
+static void xen_block_drive_layer_add(XenBlockDrive *drive, QDict *qdict,
+                                      Error **errp)
+{
+    unsigned int i = drive->layers;
+    char *node_name;
+
+    g_assert(drive->layers < ARRAY_SIZE(drive->node_name));
+
+    if (i != 0) {
+        /* Link to the lower layer */
+        qdict_put_str(qdict, "file", drive->node_name[i - 1]);
+    }
+
+    node_name = xen_block_blockdev_add(drive->id, qdict, errp);
+    if (!node_name) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    drive->node_name[i] = node_name;
+    drive->layers++;
+}
+
+static XenBlockDrive *xen_block_drive_create(const char *id,
+                                             const char *device_type,
+                                             QDict *opts, Error **errp)
+{
+    const char *params = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "params");
+    const char *mode = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "mode");
+    const char *direct_io_safe = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "direct-io-safe");
+    const char *discard_enable = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "discard-enable");
+    char *driver = NULL;
+    char *filename = NULL;
+    XenBlockDrive *drive = NULL;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+    QDict *qdict;
+
+    if (params) {
+        char **v = g_strsplit(params, ":", 2);
+
+        if (v[1] == NULL) {
+            filename = g_strdup(v[0]);
+            driver = g_strdup("file");
+        } else {
+            if (strcmp(v[0], "aio") == 0) {
+                driver = g_strdup("file");
+            } else if (strcmp(v[0], "vhd") == 0) {
+                driver = g_strdup("vpc");
+            } else {
+                driver = g_strdup(v[0]);
+            }
+            filename = g_strdup(v[1]);
+        }
+
+        g_strfreev(v);
+    }
+
+    if (!filename) {
+        error_setg(errp, "no filename");
+        goto done;
+    }
+    assert(driver);
+
+    drive = g_new0(XenBlockDrive, 1);
+    drive->id = g_strdup(id);
+
+    qdict = qdict_new();
+
+    qdict_put_str(qdict, "driver", "file");
+    qdict_put_str(qdict, "filename", filename);
+
+    if (mode && *mode != 'w') {
+        qdict_put_bool(qdict, "read-only", true);
+    }
+
+    if (direct_io_safe) {
+        unsigned long value;
+
+        if (!qemu_strtoul(direct_io_safe, NULL, 2, &value) && !!value) {
+            QDict *cache_qdict = qdict_new();
+
+            qdict_put_bool(cache_qdict, "direct", true);
+            qdict_put_obj(qdict, "cache", QOBJECT(cache_qdict));
+
+            qdict_put_str(qdict, "aio", "native");
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (discard_enable) {
+        unsigned long value;
+
+        if (!qemu_strtoul(discard_enable, NULL, 2, &value) && !!value) {
+            qdict_put_str(qdict, "discard", "unmap");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * It is necessary to turn file locking off as an emulated device
+     * may have already opened the same image file.
+     */
+    qdict_put_str(qdict, "locking", "off");
+
+    xen_block_drive_layer_add(drive, qdict, &local_err);
+    qobject_unref(qdict);
+
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* If the image is a raw file then we are done */
+    if (!strcmp(driver, "file")) {
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    qdict = qdict_new();
+
+    qdict_put_str(qdict, "driver", driver);
+
+    xen_block_drive_layer_add(drive, qdict, &local_err);
+    qobject_unref(qdict);
+
+done:
+    g_free(driver);
+    g_free(filename);
+
+    if (local_err) {
+        xen_block_drive_destroy(drive, NULL);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    return drive;
+}
+
+static const char *xen_block_drive_get_node_name(XenBlockDrive *drive)
+{
+    return drive->layers ? drive->node_name[drive->layers - 1] : "";
+}
+
+static void xen_block_iothread_destroy(XenBlockIOThread *iothread,
+                                       Error **errp)
+{
+    qmp_object_del(iothread->id, errp);
+
+    g_free(iothread->id);
+    g_free(iothread);
+}
+
+static XenBlockIOThread *xen_block_iothread_create(const char *id,
+                                                   Error **errp)
+{
+    XenBlockIOThread *iothread = g_new(XenBlockIOThread, 1);
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+    iothread->id = g_strdup(id);
+
+    qmp_object_add(TYPE_IOTHREAD, id, false, NULL, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+
+        g_free(iothread->id);
+        g_free(iothread);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    return iothread;
+}
+
+static void xen_block_device_create(XenBackendInstance *backend,
+                                    QDict *opts, Error **errp)
+{
+    XenBus *xenbus = xen_backend_get_bus(backend);
+    const char *name = xen_backend_get_name(backend);
+    unsigned long number;
+    const char *vdev, *device_type;
+    XenBlockDrive *drive = NULL;
+    XenBlockIOThread *iothread = NULL;
+    XenDevice *xendev = NULL;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+    const char *type;
+    XenBlockDevice *blockdev;
+
+    if (qemu_strtoul(name, NULL, 10, &number)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "failed to parse name '%s'", name);
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    trace_xen_block_device_create(number);
+
+    vdev = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "dev");
+    if (!vdev) {
+        error_setg(errp, "no dev parameter");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    device_type = qdict_get_try_str(opts, "device-type");
+    if (!device_type) {
+        error_setg(errp, "no device-type parameter");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    if (!strcmp(device_type, "disk")) {
+        type = TYPE_XEN_DISK_DEVICE;
+    } else if (!strcmp(device_type, "cdrom")) {
+        type = TYPE_XEN_CDROM_DEVICE;
+    } else {
+        error_setg(errp, "invalid device-type parameter '%s'", device_type);
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    drive = xen_block_drive_create(vdev, device_type, opts, &local_err);
+    if (!drive) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err, "failed to create drive: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    iothread = xen_block_iothread_create(vdev, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err,
+                                "failed to create iothread: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    xendev = XEN_DEVICE(qdev_create(BUS(xenbus), type));
+    blockdev = XEN_BLOCK_DEVICE(xendev);
+
+    object_property_set_str(OBJECT(xendev), vdev, "vdev", &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err, "failed to set 'vdev': ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    object_property_set_str(OBJECT(xendev),
+                            xen_block_drive_get_node_name(drive), "drive",
+                            &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err, "failed to set 'drive': ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    object_property_set_str(OBJECT(xendev), iothread->id, "iothread",
+                            &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err,
+                                "failed to set 'iothread': ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    blockdev->iothread = iothread;
+    blockdev->drive = drive;
+
+    object_property_set_bool(OBJECT(xendev), true, "realized", &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err,
+                                "realization of device %s failed: ",
+                                type);
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    xen_backend_set_device(backend, xendev);
+    return;
+
+fail:
+    if (xendev) {
+        object_unparent(OBJECT(xendev));
+    }
+
+    if (iothread) {
+        xen_block_iothread_destroy(iothread, NULL);
+    }
+
+    if (drive) {
+        xen_block_drive_destroy(drive, NULL);
+    }
+}
+
+static void xen_block_device_destroy(XenBackendInstance *backend,
+                                     Error **errp)
+{
+    XenDevice *xendev = xen_backend_get_device(backend);
+    XenBlockDevice *blockdev = XEN_BLOCK_DEVICE(xendev);
+    XenBlockVdev *vdev = &blockdev->props.vdev;
+    XenBlockDrive *drive = blockdev->drive;
+    XenBlockIOThread *iothread = blockdev->iothread;
+
+    trace_xen_block_device_destroy(vdev->number);
+
+    object_unparent(OBJECT(xendev));
+
+    if (iothread) {
+        Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+        xen_block_iothread_destroy(iothread, &local_err);
+        if (local_err) {
+            error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err,
+                                "failed to destroy iothread: ");
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (drive) {
+        Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+        xen_block_drive_destroy(drive, &local_err);
+        if (local_err) {
+            error_propagate_prepend(errp, local_err,
+                                "failed to destroy drive: ");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+static const XenBackendInfo xen_block_backend_info = {
+    .type = "qdisk",
+    .create = xen_block_device_create,
+    .destroy = xen_block_device_destroy,
+};
+
+static void xen_block_register_backend(void)
+{
+    xen_backend_register(&xen_block_backend_info);
+}
+
+xen_backend_init(xen_block_register_backend);
diff --git a/hw/xen/xen-legacy-backend.c b/hw/xen/xen-legacy-backend.c
index 0c26023799..fb227de35d 100644
--- a/hw/xen/xen-legacy-backend.c
+++ b/hw/xen/xen-legacy-backend.c
@@ -753,7 +753,6 @@ void xen_be_register_common(void)
 
     xen_be_register("console", &xen_console_ops);
     xen_be_register("vkbd", &xen_kbdmouse_ops);
-    xen_be_register("qdisk", &xen_blkdev_ops);
 #ifdef CONFIG_VIRTFS
     xen_be_register("9pfs", &xen_9pfs_ops);
 #endif
diff --git a/include/hw/xen/xen-block.h b/include/hw/xen/xen-block.h
index c4223f9be1..6f5d675edb 100644
--- a/include/hw/xen/xen-block.h
+++ b/include/hw/xen/xen-block.h
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ typedef struct XenBlockVdev {
     unsigned long number;
 } XenBlockVdev;
 
+
 typedef struct XenBlockProperties {
     XenBlockVdev vdev;
     BlockConf conf;
@@ -36,12 +37,24 @@ typedef struct XenBlockProperties {
     IOThread *iothread;
 } XenBlockProperties;
 
+typedef struct XenBlockDrive {
+    char *id;
+    char *node_name[2];
+    unsigned int layers;
+} XenBlockDrive;
+
+typedef struct XenBlockIOThread {
+    char *id;
+} XenBlockIOThread;
+
 typedef struct XenBlockDevice {
     XenDevice xendev;
     XenBlockProperties props;
     const char *device_type;
     unsigned int info;
     XenBlockDataPlane *dataplane;
+    XenBlockDrive *drive;
+    XenBlockIOThread *iothread;
 } XenBlockDevice;
 
 typedef void (*XenBlockDeviceRealize)(XenBlockDevice *blockdev, Error **errp);
