diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 13a0131e5f..e5c6360d48 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2271,6 +2271,16 @@ version = "0.3.16"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2a60c7ce501c71e03a9c9c0d35b861413ae925bd979cc7a4e30d060069aaac8d"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "mime_guess"
+version = "2.0.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "4192263c238a5f0d0c6bfd21f336a313a4ce1c450542449ca191bb657b4642ef"
+dependencies = [
+ "mime",
+ "unicase",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "minimal-lexical"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -2620,6 +2630,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "md-5",
  "meval",
  "mime",
+ "mime_guess",
  "notify",
  "nu-ansi-term",
  "nu-color-config",
@@ -5241,6 +5252,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "version_check",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "unicase"
+version = "2.6.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "50f37be617794602aabbeee0be4f259dc1778fabe05e2d67ee8f79326d5cb4f6"
+dependencies = [
+ "version_check",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-bidi"
 version = "0.3.8"
diff --git a/crates/nu-cli/tests/completions.rs b/crates/nu-cli/tests/completions.rs
index dec2afb2b4..fb293b69b3 100644
--- a/crates/nu-cli/tests/completions.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-cli/tests/completions.rs
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ fn flag_completions() {
     // Test completions for the 'ls' flags
     let suggestions = completer.complete("ls -", 4);
 
-    assert_eq!(14, suggestions.len());
+    assert_eq!(16, suggestions.len());
 
     let expected: Vec<String> = vec![
         "--all".into(),
@@ -468,6 +468,7 @@ fn flag_completions() {
         "--full-paths".into(),
         "--help".into(),
         "--long".into(),
+        "--mime-type".into(),
         "--short-names".into(),
         "-D".into(),
         "-a".into(),
@@ -475,6 +476,7 @@ fn flag_completions() {
         "-f".into(),
         "-h".into(),
         "-l".into(),
+        "-m".into(),
         "-s".into(),
     ];
 
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/Cargo.toml b/crates/nu-command/Cargo.toml
index 5649fce3da..01439241cd 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/nu-command/Cargo.toml
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ lscolors = { version = "0.12.0", features = ["crossterm"], default-features = fa
 md5 = { package = "md-5", version = "0.10.0" }
 meval = "0.2.0"
 mime = "0.3.16"
+mime_guess = "2.0.4"
 notify = "4.0.17"
 num = { version = "0.4.0", optional = true }
 num-traits = "0.2.14"
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/filesystem/ls.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/filesystem/ls.rs
index 948a944a21..f90f1ab036 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/filesystem/ls.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/filesystem/ls.rs
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ impl Command for Ls {
                 "List the specified directory itself instead of its contents",
                 Some('D'),
             )
+            .switch("mime-type", "Show mime-type in type column", Some('m'))
             .category(Category::FileSystem)
     }
 
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ impl Command for Ls {
         let full_paths = call.has_flag("full-paths");
         let du = call.has_flag("du");
         let directory = call.has_flag("directory");
+        let use_mime_type = call.has_flag("mime-type");
         let ctrl_c = engine_state.ctrlc.clone();
         let call_span = call.head;
         let cwd = current_dir(engine_state, stack)?;
@@ -250,6 +252,7 @@ impl Command for Ls {
                                 long,
                                 du,
                                 ctrl_c.clone(),
+                                use_mime_type,
                             );
                             match entry {
                                 Ok(value) => Some(value),
@@ -365,7 +368,7 @@ use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool;
 
-pub fn get_file_type(md: &std::fs::Metadata) -> &str {
+pub fn get_file_type(md: &std::fs::Metadata, display_name: &str, use_mime_type: bool) -> String {
     let ft = md.file_type();
     let mut file_type = "unknown";
     if ft.is_dir() {
@@ -388,18 +391,32 @@ pub fn get_file_type(md: &std::fs::Metadata) -> &str {
             }
         }
     }
-    file_type
+    if use_mime_type {
+        let guess = mime_guess::from_path(display_name);
+        let mime_guess = match guess.first() {
+            Some(mime_type) => mime_type.essence_str().to_string(),
+            None => "unknown".to_string(),
+        };
+        if file_type == "file" {
+            mime_guess
+        } else {
+            file_type.to_string()
+        }
+    } else {
+        file_type.to_string()
+    }
 }
 
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub(crate) fn dir_entry_dict(
     filename: &std::path::Path, // absolute path
-    display_name: &str,         // gile name to be displayed
+    display_name: &str,         // file name to be displayed
     metadata: Option<&std::fs::Metadata>,
     span: Span,
     long: bool,
     du: bool,
     ctrl_c: Option<Arc<AtomicBool>>,
+    use_mime_type: bool,
 ) -> Result<Value, ShellError> {
     #[cfg(windows)]
     if metadata.is_none() {
@@ -408,7 +425,7 @@ pub(crate) fn dir_entry_dict(
 
     let mut cols = vec![];
     let mut vals = vec![];
-    let mut file_type = "unknown";
+    let mut file_type = "unknown".to_string();
 
     cols.push("name".into());
     vals.push(Value::String {
@@ -417,10 +434,10 @@ pub(crate) fn dir_entry_dict(
     });
 
     if let Some(md) = metadata {
-        file_type = get_file_type(md);
+        file_type = get_file_type(md, display_name, use_mime_type);
         cols.push("type".into());
         vals.push(Value::String {
-            val: file_type.to_string(),
+            val: file_type.clone(),
             span,
         });
     } else {