diff --git a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoader.cpp b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoader.cpp
index 67a9838b..a5b6e90e 100644
--- a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoader.cpp
+++ b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoader.cpp
@@ -1485,7 +1485,7 @@ static constexpr struct
 };
 
 
-/* parse the attributes for a rect element.
+/* parse the attributes for a line element.
  * https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/shapes.html#LineElement
  */
 static bool _attrParseLineNode(void* data, const char* key, const char* value)
@@ -1534,10 +1534,72 @@ static string* _idFromHref(const char* href)
 {
     href = _skipSpace(href, nullptr);
     if ((*href) == '#') href++;
+    if(!strncmp(href, "file://", sizeof("file://") - 1)) href += sizeof("file://") - 1;
     return new string(href);
 }
 
 
+static constexpr struct
+{
+    const char* tag;
+    SvgParserLengthType type;
+    int sz;
+    size_t offset;
+} imageTags[] = {
+    {"x", SvgParserLengthType::Horizontal, sizeof("x"), offsetof(SvgRectNode, x)},
+    {"y", SvgParserLengthType::Vertical, sizeof("y"), offsetof(SvgRectNode, y)},
+    {"width", SvgParserLengthType::Horizontal, sizeof("width"), offsetof(SvgRectNode, w)},
+    {"height", SvgParserLengthType::Vertical, sizeof("height"), offsetof(SvgRectNode, h)},
+};
+
+
+/* parse the attributes for a image element.
+ * https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/embedded.html#ImageElement
+ */
+static bool _attrParseImageNode(void* data, const char* key, const char* value)
+{
+    SvgLoaderData* loader = (SvgLoaderData*)data;
+    SvgNode* node = loader->svgParse->node;
+    SvgImageNode* image = &(node->node.image);
+    unsigned char* array;
+    int sz = strlen(key);
+
+    array = (unsigned char*)image;
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < sizeof(imageTags) / sizeof(imageTags[0]); i++) {
+        if (imageTags[i].sz - 1 == sz && !strncmp(imageTags[i].tag, key, sz)) {
+            *((float*)(array + imageTags[i].offset)) = _toFloat(loader->svgParse, value, imageTags[i].type);
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (!strcmp(key, "href") || !strcmp(key, "xlink:href")) {
+        image->href = _idFromHref(value);
+    } else if (!strcmp(key, "id")) {
+        node->id = _copyId(value);
+    } else if (!strcmp(key, "style")) {
+        return simpleXmlParseW3CAttribute(value, _parseStyleAttr, loader);
+    } else if (!strcmp(key, "clip-path")) {
+        _handleClipPathAttr(loader, node, value);
+    } else if (!strcmp(key, "mask")) {
+        _handleMaskAttr(loader, node, value);
+    } else {
+        return _parseStyleAttr(loader, key, value);
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+
+static SvgNode* _createImageNode(SvgLoaderData* loader, SvgNode* parent, const char* buf, unsigned bufLength)
+{
+    loader->svgParse->node = _createNode(parent, SvgNodeType::Image);
+
+    if (!loader->svgParse->node) return nullptr;
+
+    simpleXmlParseAttributes(buf, bufLength, _attrParseImageNode, loader);
+    return loader->svgParse->node;
+}
+
+
 static SvgNode* _getDefsNode(SvgNode* node)
 {
     if (!node) return nullptr;
@@ -1785,7 +1847,8 @@ static constexpr struct
     {"polygon", sizeof("polygon"), _createPolygonNode},
     {"rect", sizeof("rect"), _createRectNode},
     {"polyline", sizeof("polyline"), _createPolylineNode},
-    {"line", sizeof("line"), _createLineNode}
+    {"line", sizeof("line"), _createLineNode},
+    {"image", sizeof("image"), _createImageNode}
 };
 
 
diff --git a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoaderCommon.h b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoaderCommon.h
index 03e28876..165bd815 100644
--- a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoaderCommon.h
+++ b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgLoaderCommon.h
@@ -188,6 +188,15 @@ struct SvgLineNode
     float y2;
 };
 
+struct SvgImageNode
+{
+    float x;
+    float y;
+    float w;
+    float h;
+    string *href;
+};
+
 struct SvgPathNode
 {
     string* path;
@@ -321,6 +330,7 @@ struct SvgNode
         SvgRectNode rect;
         SvgPathNode path;
         SvgLineNode line;
+        SvgImageNode image;
     } node;
     bool display;
 };
diff --git a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgSceneBuilder.cpp b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgSceneBuilder.cpp
index 711e473e..0da0190b 100644
--- a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgSceneBuilder.cpp
+++ b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgSceneBuilder.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include "tvgSvgLoaderCommon.h"
 #include "tvgSvgSceneBuilder.h"
 #include "tvgSvgPath.h"
+#include "tvgSvgUtil.h"
 
 static bool _appendShape(SvgNode* node, Shape* shape, float vx, float vy, float vw, float vh);
 
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ static unique_ptr<LinearGradient> _applyLinearGradientProperty(SvgStyleGradient*
             stops[i].b = colorStop->b;
             stops[i].a = (colorStop->a * opacity) / 255.0f;
             stops[i].offset = colorStop->offset;
-            // check the offset corner cases - refer to: https://svgwg.org/svg2-draft/pservers.html#StopNotes
+            //check the offset corner cases - refer to: https://svgwg.org/svg2-draft/pservers.html#StopNotes
             if (colorStop->offset < prevOffset) stops[i].offset = prevOffset;
             else if (colorStop->offset > 1) stops[i].offset = 1;
             prevOffset = stops[i].offset;
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ static unique_ptr<RadialGradient> _applyRadialGradientProperty(SvgStyleGradient*
             stops[i].b = colorStop->b;
             stops[i].a = (colorStop->a * opacity) / 255.0f;
             stops[i].offset = colorStop->offset;
-            // check the offset corner cases - refer to: https://svgwg.org/svg2-draft/pservers.html#StopNotes
+            //check the offset corner cases - refer to: https://svgwg.org/svg2-draft/pservers.html#StopNotes
             if (colorStop->offset < prevOffset) stops[i].offset = prevOffset;
             else if (colorStop->offset > 1) stops[i].offset = 1;
             prevOffset = stops[i].offset;
@@ -346,6 +347,113 @@ static bool _appendShape(SvgNode* node, Shape* shape, float vx, float vy, float
     return true;
 }
 
+enum class imageMimeTypeEncoding
+{
+    base64 = 0x1,
+    utf8 = 0x2
+};
+constexpr imageMimeTypeEncoding operator|(imageMimeTypeEncoding a, imageMimeTypeEncoding b) {
+    return static_cast<imageMimeTypeEncoding>(static_cast<int>(a) | static_cast<int>(b));
+}
+constexpr bool operator&(imageMimeTypeEncoding a, imageMimeTypeEncoding b) {
+    return (static_cast<int>(a) & static_cast<int>(b));
+}
+
+static constexpr struct
+{
+    const char* name;
+    int sz;
+    imageMimeTypeEncoding encoding;
+} imageMimeTypes[] = {
+#ifdef THORVG_JPG_LOADER_SUPPORT
+    {"jpeg", sizeof("jpeg"), imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64},
+#endif
+#ifdef THORVG_PNG_LOADER_SUPPORT
+    {"png", sizeof("png"), imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64},
+#endif
+    {"svg+xml", sizeof("svg+xml"), imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64 | imageMimeTypeEncoding::utf8},
+};
+
+static bool _isValidImageMimeTypeAndEncoding(const char** href, imageMimeTypeEncoding* encoding) {
+    if (strncmp(*href, "image/", sizeof("image/") - 1)) return false; //not allowed mime type
+    *href += sizeof("image/") - 1;
+
+    //RFC2397 data:[<mediatype>][;base64],<data>
+    //mediatype  := [ type "/" subtype ] *( ";" parameter )
+    //parameter  := attribute "=" value
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < sizeof(imageMimeTypes) / sizeof(imageMimeTypes[0]); i++) {
+        if (!strncmp(*href, imageMimeTypes[i].name, imageMimeTypes[i].sz - 1)) {
+            *href += imageMimeTypes[i].sz  - 1;
+
+            while (**href && **href != ',') {
+                while (**href && **href != ';') ++(*href);
+                if (!**href) return false;
+                ++(*href);
+
+                if (imageMimeTypes[i].encoding & imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64) {
+                    if (!strncmp(*href, "base64,", sizeof("base64,") - 1)) {
+                        *href += sizeof("base64,") - 1;
+                        *encoding = imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64;
+                        return true; //valid base64
+                    }
+                }
+                if (imageMimeTypes[i].encoding & imageMimeTypeEncoding::utf8) {
+                    if (!strncmp(*href, "utf8,", sizeof("utf8,") - 1)) {
+                        *href += sizeof("utf8,") - 1;
+                        *encoding = imageMimeTypeEncoding::utf8;
+                        return true; //valid utf8
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            //no encoding defined
+            if (**href == ',' && (imageMimeTypes[i].encoding & imageMimeTypeEncoding::utf8)) {
+                ++(*href);
+                *encoding = imageMimeTypeEncoding::utf8;
+                return true; //allow no encoding defined if utf8 expected
+            }
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+static unique_ptr<Picture> _imageBuildHelper(SvgNode* node, float vx, float vy, float vw, float vh)
+{
+    if (!node->node.image.href) return nullptr;
+    auto picture = Picture::gen();
+
+    const char* href = (*node->node.image.href).c_str();
+    if (!strncmp(href, "data:", sizeof("data:") - 1)) {
+        href += sizeof("data:") - 1;
+        imageMimeTypeEncoding encoding;
+        if (!_isValidImageMimeTypeAndEncoding(&href, &encoding)) return nullptr; //not allowed mime type or encoding
+        if (encoding == imageMimeTypeEncoding::base64) {
+            string decoded = svgUtilBase64Decode(href);
+            if (picture->load(decoded.c_str(), decoded.size(), true) != Result::Success) return nullptr;
+        } else {
+            string decoded = svgUtilURLDecode(href);
+            if (picture->load(decoded.c_str(), decoded.size(), true) != Result::Success) return nullptr;
+        }
+
+    } else {
+        //TODO: protect against recursive svg image loading
+        if (picture->load(href) != Result::Success) return nullptr;
+        picture->size(node->node.image.w, node->node.image.h);
+    }
+
+    float x, y, w, h;
+    if (picture->viewbox(&x, &y, &w, &h) == Result::Success && vw && vh) {
+        auto sx = node->node.image.w / w;
+        auto sy = node->node.image.h / h;
+        auto sxt = x * sx;
+        auto syt = y * sy;
+        Matrix m = {sx, 0, node->node.image.x - sxt, 0, sy, node->node.image.y - syt, 0, 0, 1};
+        picture->transform(m);
+    }
+
+    return picture;
+}
+
 
 static unique_ptr<Scene> _sceneBuildHelper(const SvgNode* node, float vx, float vy, float vw, float vh)
 {
@@ -358,6 +466,9 @@ static unique_ptr<Scene> _sceneBuildHelper(const SvgNode* node, float vx, float
             for (uint32_t i = 0; i < node->child.count; ++i, ++child) {
                 if (_isGroupType((*child)->type)) {
                     scene->push(_sceneBuildHelper(*child, vx, vy, vw, vh));
+                } else if ((*child)->type == SvgNodeType::Image) {
+                    auto image = _imageBuildHelper(*child, vx, vy, vw, vh);
+                    if (image) scene->push(move(image));
                 } else {
                     auto shape = _shapeBuildHelper(*child, vx, vy, vw, vh);
                     if (shape) scene->push(move(shape));
diff --git a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.cpp b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.cpp
index 9383df57..8fd0d21e 100644
--- a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.cpp
+++ b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include <memory.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
 #include "tvgSvgUtil.h"
 
 /************************************************************************/
@@ -35,6 +36,20 @@ static inline bool _floatExact(float a, float b)
     return memcmp(&a, &b, sizeof (float)) == 0;
 }
 
+static uint8_t _hexCharToDec(const char c) {
+    if (c >= 'a') return c - 'a' + 10;
+    else if (c >= 'A') return c - 'A' + 10;
+    else return c - '0';
+}
+
+static uint8_t _base64Value(const char chr) {
+    if (chr >= 'A' && chr <= 'Z') return chr - 'A';
+    else if (chr >= 'a' && chr <= 'z') return chr - 'a' + ('Z' - 'A') + 1;
+    else if (chr >= '0' && chr <= '9') return chr - '0' + ('Z' - 'A') + ('z' - 'a') + 2;
+    else if (chr == '+' || chr == '-') return 62;
+    else return 63;
+}
+
 
 /************************************************************************/
 /* External Class Implementation                                        */
@@ -242,3 +257,52 @@ on_error:
     if (endPtr) *endPtr = (char *)nPtr;
     return 0.0f;
 }
+
+string svgUtilURLDecode(const char *src) {
+    unsigned int length = strlen(src);
+    if (!src || !length) return nullptr;
+
+    string decoded;
+    decoded.reserve(length);
+
+    char a, b;
+    while (*src) {
+        if (*src == '%' &&
+            ((a = src[1]) && (b = src[2])) &&
+            (isxdigit(a) && isxdigit(b))) {
+            decoded += (_hexCharToDec(a) << 4) + _hexCharToDec(b);
+            src+=3;
+        } else if (*src == '+') {
+            decoded += ' ';
+            src++;
+        } else {
+            decoded += *src++;
+        }
+    }
+    return decoded;
+}
+
+string svgUtilBase64Decode(const char *src) {
+    unsigned int length = strlen(src);
+    if (!src || !length) return nullptr;
+
+    string decoded;
+    decoded.reserve(3*(1+(length >> 2)));
+
+    while (*src && *(src+1)) {
+        uint8_t value1 = _base64Value(src[0]);
+        uint8_t value2 = _base64Value(src[1]);
+        decoded += (value1 << 2) + ((value2 & 0x30) >> 4);
+
+        if (!src[2] || src[2] == '=' || src[2] == '.') break;
+        uint8_t value3 = _base64Value(src[2]);
+        decoded += ((value2 & 0x0f) << 4) + ((value3 & 0x3c) >> 2);
+
+        if (!src[3] || src[3] == '=' || src[3] == '.') break;
+        uint8_t value4 = _base64Value(src[3]);
+        decoded += ((value3 & 0x03) << 6) + value4;
+        src += 4;
+    }
+    return decoded;
+}
+
diff --git a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.h b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.h
index 1f2d9ec1..4320cfed 100644
--- a/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.h
+++ b/src/loaders/svg/tvgSvgUtil.h
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@
 #ifndef _TVG_SVG_UTIL_H_
 #define _TVG_SVG_UTIL_H_
 
+#include "tvgCommon.h"
+
 float svgUtilStrtof(const char *nPtr, char **endPtr);
 
+string svgUtilURLDecode(const char *src);
+string svgUtilBase64Decode(const char *src);
+
 #endif //_TVG_SVG_UTIL_H_