diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/src/ngcc_options.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/src/ngcc_options.ts
index abb3578ef6793..7ef38ec650f80 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/src/ngcc_options.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/src/ngcc_options.ts
@@ -186,6 +186,8 @@ export function getSharedSetup(options: NgccOptions): SharedSetup&RequiredNgccOp
     errorOnFailedEntryPoint = true;
   }
 
+  checkForSolutionStyleTsConfig(fileSystem, logger, projectPath, options.tsConfigPath, tsConfig);
+
   return {
     basePath,
     targetEntryPointPath,
@@ -233,3 +235,22 @@ export function clearTsConfigCache() {
   tsConfigPathCache = null;
   tsConfigCache = null;
 }
+
+function checkForSolutionStyleTsConfig(
+    fileSystem: FileSystem, logger: Logger, projectPath: AbsoluteFsPath,
+    tsConfigPath: string|null|undefined, tsConfig: ParsedConfiguration|null): void {
+  if (tsConfigPath !== null && !tsConfigPath && tsConfig !== null &&
+      tsConfig.rootNames.length === 0 && tsConfig.projectReferences !== undefined &&
+      tsConfig.projectReferences.length > 0) {
+    logger.warn(
+        `The inferred tsconfig file "${tsConfig.project}" appears to be "solution-style" ` +
+        `since it contains no root files but does contain project references.\n` +
+        `This is probably not wanted, since ngcc is unable to infer settings like "paths" mappings from such a file.\n` +
+        `Perhaps you should have explicitly specified one of the referenced projects using the --tsconfig option. For example:\n\n` +
+        tsConfig.projectReferences.map(ref => `  ngcc ... --tsconfig "${ref.originalPath}"\n`)
+            .join('') +
+        `\nFind out more about solution-style tsconfig at https://devblogs.microsoft.com/typescript/announcing-typescript-3-9/#solution-style-tsconfig.\n` +
+        `If you did intend to use this file, then you can hide this warning by providing it explicitly:\n\n` +
+        `  ngcc ... --tsconfig "${fileSystem.relative(projectPath, tsConfig.project)}"`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/test/ngcc_options_spec.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/test/ngcc_options_spec.ts
index f044799d9a90f..56fa85b7eb3a7 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/test/ngcc_options_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/ngcc/test/ngcc_options_spec.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,48 @@ runInEachFileSystem(() => {
       expect(setup.tsConfigPath).toBe(null);
       expect(setup.tsConfig).toBe(null);
     });
+
+    it('should warn about a solution-style tsconfig if the tsConfigPath is inferred', () => {
+      fs.writeFile(fs.resolve(projectPath, 'tsconfig.app.json'), '{"files": ["src/index.ts"]}');
+      fs.writeFile(fs.resolve(projectPath, 'tsconfig.test.json'), '{"files": ["src/test.ts"]}');
+      fs.writeFile(pathToProjectTsConfig, JSON.stringify({
+        'files': [],
+        'references': [
+          {'path': 'tsconfig.app.json'},
+          {'path': 'tsconfig.test.json'},
+        ]
+      }));
+      const setup = getSharedSetup({...createOptions()});
+      expect(setup.tsConfigPath).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(setup.tsConfig?.rootNames).toEqual([]);
+      expect((setup.logger as MockLogger).logs.warn).toEqual([[
+        `The inferred tsconfig file "${
+            pathToProjectTsConfig}" appears to be "solution-style" since it contains no root files but does contain project references.\n` +
+        `This is probably not wanted, since ngcc is unable to infer settings like "paths" mappings from such a file.\n` +
+        `Perhaps you should have explicitly specified one of the referenced projects using the --tsconfig option. For example:\n\n` +
+        `  ngcc ... --tsconfig "tsconfig.app.json"\n` +
+        `  ngcc ... --tsconfig "tsconfig.test.json"\n` +
+        `\nFind out more about solution-style tsconfig at https://devblogs.microsoft.com/typescript/announcing-typescript-3-9/#solution-style-tsconfig.\n` +
+        `If you did intend to use this file, then you can hide this warning by providing it explicitly:\n\n` +
+        `  ngcc ... --tsconfig "tsconfig.json"`
+      ]]);
+    });
+
+    it('should not warn about a solution-style tsconfig if the tsConfigPath is explicit', () => {
+      fs.writeFile(fs.resolve(projectPath, 'tsconfig.app.json'), '{"files": ["src/index.ts"]}');
+      fs.writeFile(fs.resolve(projectPath, 'tsconfig.test.json'), '{"files": ["src/test.ts"]}');
+      fs.writeFile(pathToProjectTsConfig, JSON.stringify({
+        'files': [],
+        'references': [
+          {'path': 'tsconfig.app.json'},
+          {'path': 'tsconfig.test.json'},
+        ]
+      }));
+      const setup = getSharedSetup({...createOptions(), tsConfigPath: pathToProjectTsConfig});
+      expect(setup.tsConfigPath).toEqual(pathToProjectTsConfig);
+      expect(setup.tsConfig?.rootNames).toEqual([]);
+      expect((setup.logger as MockLogger).logs.warn).toEqual([]);
+    });
   });
 
   /**
diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/src/perform_compile.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/src/perform_compile.ts
index 754ca7f2e3f22..1fc1a42c970d1 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/src/perform_compile.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/src/perform_compile.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ export interface ParsedConfiguration {
   project: string;
   options: api.CompilerOptions;
   rootNames: string[];
+  projectReferences?: readonly ts.ProjectReference[]|undefined;
   emitFlags: api.EmitFlags;
   errors: Diagnostics;
 }
@@ -197,6 +198,7 @@ export function readConfiguration(
     const parsed = ts.parseJsonConfigFileContent(
         config, parseConfigHost, basePath, existingOptions, configFileName);
     const rootNames = parsed.fileNames;
+    const projectReferences = parsed.projectReferences;
 
     const options = createNgCompilerOptions(basePath, config, parsed.options);
     let emitFlags = api.EmitFlags.Default;
@@ -206,7 +208,14 @@ export function readConfiguration(
     if (options.skipTemplateCodegen) {
       emitFlags = emitFlags & ~api.EmitFlags.Codegen;
     }
-    return {project: projectFile, rootNames, options, errors: parsed.errors, emitFlags};
+    return {
+      project: projectFile,
+      rootNames,
+      projectReferences,
+      options,
+      errors: parsed.errors,
+      emitFlags
+    };
   } catch (e) {
     const errors: Diagnostics = [{
       category: ts.DiagnosticCategory.Error,