diff --git a/package/dnsmasq/S80dnsmasq b/package/dnsmasq/S80dnsmasq
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..2ff0206be1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package/dnsmasq/S80dnsmasq
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+[ -x /usr/sbin/dnsmasq ] || exit 0
+[ -f /etc/dnsmasq.conf ] || exit 0
+
+case "$1" in
+	start)
+		echo -n "Starting dnsmasq: "
+		start-stop-daemon -S -x /usr/sbin/dnsmasq
+		[ $? == 0 ] && echo "OK" || echo "FAIL"
+		;;
+	stop)
+		echo -n "Stopping dnsmasq: "
+		start-stop-daemon -K -q -x /usr/sbin/dnsmasq
+		[ $? == 0 ] && echo "OK" || echo "FAIL"
+		;;
+	restart|reload)
+		$0 stop
+		$0 start
+		;;
+	*)
+		echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
+		exit 1
+esac
+
+exit 0
diff --git a/package/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.mk b/package/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.mk
index 9bf9b84a40..56d11eeb61 100644
--- a/package/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.mk
+++ b/package/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.mk
@@ -93,4 +93,9 @@ define DNSMASQ_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
 	mkdir -p $(TARGET_DIR)/var/lib/misc/
 endef
 
+define DNSMASQ_INSTALL_INIT_SYSV
+	$(INSTALL) -m 755 -D package/dnsmasq/S80dnsmasq \
+		$(TARGET_DIR)/etc/init.d/S80dnsmasq
+endef
+
 $(eval $(generic-package))