diff --git a/drivers/display/Kconfig.ili9xxx b/drivers/display/Kconfig.ili9xxx
index ccd6778d04a..d1710d176e9 100644
--- a/drivers/display/Kconfig.ili9xxx
+++ b/drivers/display/Kconfig.ili9xxx
@@ -10,6 +10,15 @@ config ILI9XXX
 	help
 	  Hidden configuration entry for all ILI9XXX drivers.
 
+config ILI9XXX_READ
+	bool "Allow display_read API with ILI9XXX"
+	help
+	  Support display_read API with ILI9XXX controllers. This API is opt-in,
+	  because it adds code overhead and is not very performant due to
+	  the requirement to bitshift data read from the ILI9XXX. Note the
+	  API only supports RGB565 mode.
+
+
 config ILI9340
 	bool "ILI9340 display driver"
 	default y
diff --git a/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.c b/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.c
index c3a173078fa..fd3cd4e7b9e 100644
--- a/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.c
+++ b/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.c
@@ -21,6 +21,49 @@ struct ili9xxx_data {
 	enum display_orientation orientation;
 };
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_ILI9XXX_READ
+
+/* We set this LUT directly when reads are enabled,
+ * so that we can be sure the bitshift to convert GRAM data back
+ * to RGB565 will result in correct data
+ */
+const uint8_t ili9xxx_rgb_lut[] = {
+	0, 2, 4, 6,
+	8, 10, 12, 14,
+	16, 18, 20, 22,
+	24, 26, 28, 30,
+	32, 34, 36, 38,
+	40, 42, 44, 46,
+	48, 50, 52, 54,
+	56, 58, 60, 62,
+	0, 1, 2, 3,
+	4, 5, 6, 7,
+	8, 9, 10, 11,
+	12, 13, 14, 15,
+	16, 17, 18, 19,
+	20, 21, 22, 23,
+	24, 25, 26, 27,
+	28, 29, 30, 31,
+	32, 33, 34, 35,
+	36, 37, 38, 39,
+	40, 41, 42, 43,
+	44, 45, 46, 47,
+	48, 49, 50, 51,
+	52, 53, 54, 55,
+	56, 57, 58, 59,
+	60, 61, 62, 63,
+	0, 2, 4, 6,
+	8, 10, 12, 14,
+	16, 18, 20, 22,
+	24, 26, 28, 30,
+	32, 34, 36, 38,
+	40, 42, 44, 46,
+	48, 50, 52, 54,
+	56, 58, 60, 62
+};
+
+#endif
+
 int ili9xxx_transmit(const struct device *dev, uint8_t cmd, const void *tx_data,
 		     size_t tx_len)
 {
@@ -142,6 +185,93 @@ static int ili9xxx_write(const struct device *dev, const uint16_t x,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_ILI9XXX_READ
+
+static int ili9xxx_read(const struct device *dev, const uint16_t x,
+			const uint16_t y,
+			const struct display_buffer_descriptor *desc, void *buf)
+{
+	const struct ili9xxx_config *config = dev->config;
+	struct ili9xxx_data *data = dev->data;
+	struct display_buffer_descriptor mipi_desc;
+	int r;
+	uint32_t gram_data, nbr_of_reads;
+	uint16_t *read_data_start = (uint16_t *)buf;
+
+	if (data->pixel_format != PIXEL_FORMAT_RGB_565) {
+		/* Only RGB565 can be supported, see note below */
+		return -ENOTSUP;
+	}
+
+	__ASSERT(desc->width <= desc->pitch, "Pitch is smaller than width");
+	__ASSERT((desc->pitch * data->bytes_per_pixel * desc->height) <=
+			 desc->buf_size,
+		 "Output buffer to small");
+
+	LOG_DBG("Reading %dx%d (w,h) @ %dx%d (x,y)", desc->width, desc->height,
+		x, y);
+
+	r = ili9xxx_set_mem_area(dev, x, y, desc->width, desc->height);
+	if (r < 0) {
+		return r;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * ILI9XXX stores all pixel data in graphics ram (GRAM) as 18 bit
+	 * values. When using RGB565 pixel format, pixels are converted to
+	 * 18 bit values via a lookup table. When using RGB888 format, the
+	 * lower 2 bits of each pixel are simply dropped. When reading pixels,
+	 * the response format will always look like so:
+	 * | R[5:0] | x | x | G[5:0] | x | x | B[5:0] | x | x |
+	 * Where x represents "don't care". The internal format of the
+	 * ILI9XXX graphics RAM results in the following restrictions:
+	 * - RGB888 mode can't be supported.
+	 * - we can only read one pixel at once (since we need to do
+	 *   byte manipulation on the output)
+	 */
+
+	/* Setup MIPI descriptor to read 3 bytes (one pixel in GRAM) */
+	mipi_desc.width = 1;
+	mipi_desc.height = 1;
+	/* Per MIPI API, pitch must always match width */
+	mipi_desc.pitch = 1;
+
+	nbr_of_reads = desc->width * desc->height;
+
+	/* Initial read command should consist of RAMRD command, plus
+	 * 8 dummy clock cycles
+	 */
+	uint8_t cmd[] = {ILI9XXX_RAMRD, 0xFF};
+
+	for (uint32_t read_cnt = 0; read_cnt < nbr_of_reads; read_cnt++) {
+		r = mipi_dbi_command_read(config->mipi_dev,
+					  &config->dbi_config,
+					  cmd, sizeof(cmd),
+					  (uint8_t *)&gram_data, 3);
+		if (r < 0) {
+			return r;
+		}
+
+		/* Bitshift the graphics RAM data to RGB565.
+		 * For more details on the formatting of this data,
+		 * see "Read data through 4-line SPI mode" diagram
+		 * on page 64 of datasheet.
+		 */
+		read_data_start[read_cnt] =
+			((gram_data & 0xF80000) >> 11) | /* Blue */
+			((gram_data & 0x1C00) << 3) |  /* Green */
+			((gram_data & 0xE000) >> 13) |  /* Green */
+			(gram_data & 0xF8); /* Red */
+
+		/* After first read, we should use read memory continue command */
+		cmd[0] = ILI9XXX_RAMRD_CONT;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+#endif
+
 static int ili9xxx_display_blanking_off(const struct device *dev)
 {
 	LOG_DBG("Turning display blanking off");
@@ -321,6 +451,11 @@ static int ili9xxx_init(const struct device *dev)
 		return r;
 	}
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_ILI9XXX_READ
+	/* Set RGB LUT table to enable display read API */
+	ili9xxx_transmit(dev, ILI9XXX_RGBSET, ili9xxx_rgb_lut, sizeof(ili9xxx_rgb_lut));
+#endif
+
 	k_sleep(K_MSEC(ILI9XXX_RESET_WAIT_TIME));
 
 	ili9xxx_display_blanking_on(dev);
@@ -344,6 +479,9 @@ static const struct display_driver_api ili9xxx_api = {
 	.blanking_on = ili9xxx_display_blanking_on,
 	.blanking_off = ili9xxx_display_blanking_off,
 	.write = ili9xxx_write,
+#ifdef CONFIG_ILI9XXX_READ
+	.read = ili9xxx_read,
+#endif
 	.get_capabilities = ili9xxx_get_capabilities,
 	.set_pixel_format = ili9xxx_set_pixel_format,
 	.set_orientation = ili9xxx_set_orientation,
diff --git a/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.h b/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.h
index ddf8254224e..861b26d4360 100644
--- a/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.h
+++ b/drivers/display/display_ili9xxx.h
@@ -22,8 +22,11 @@
 #define ILI9XXX_CASET 0x2a
 #define ILI9XXX_PASET 0x2b
 #define ILI9XXX_RAMWR 0x2c
+#define ILI9XXX_RGBSET 0x2d
+#define ILI9XXX_RAMRD 0x2e
 #define ILI9XXX_MADCTL 0x36
 #define ILI9XXX_PIXSET 0x3A
+#define ILI9XXX_RAMRD_CONT 0x3e
 
 /* MADCTL register fields. */
 #define ILI9XXX_MADCTL_MY BIT(7U)