diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bdc317b19..105233b62 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -166,6 +166,14 @@ TF_CFLAGS_aarch64	=	-march=armv8-a
 LD			=	$(LINKER)
 endif
 
+ifeq (${AARCH32_INSTRUCTION_SET},A32)
+TF_CFLAGS_aarch32	+=	-marm
+else ifeq (${AARCH32_INSTRUCTION_SET},T32)
+TF_CFLAGS_aarch32	+=	-mthumb
+else
+$(error Error: Unknown AArch32 instruction set ${AARCH32_INSTRUCTION_SET})
+endif
+
 TF_CFLAGS_aarch32	+=	-mno-unaligned-access
 TF_CFLAGS_aarch64	+=	-mgeneral-regs-only -mstrict-align
 
diff --git a/docs/user-guide.rst b/docs/user-guide.rst
index 3f8170fd0..b8baf4711 100644
--- a/docs/user-guide.rst
+++ b/docs/user-guide.rst
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ In addition, the following optional packages and tools may be needed:
 
 -  To create and modify the diagram files included in the documentation, `Dia`_.
    This tool can be found in most Linux distributions. Inkscape is needed to
-   generate the actual *.png files.
+   generate the actual \*.png files.
 
 Getting the TF-A source code
 ----------------------------
@@ -212,6 +212,10 @@ performed.
 Common build options
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
+-  ``AARCH32_INSTRUCTION_SET``: Choose the AArch32 instruction set that the
+   compiler should use. Valid values are T32 and A32. It defaults to T32 due to
+   code having a smaller resulting size.
+
 -  ``AARCH32_SP`` : Choose the AArch32 Secure Payload component to be built as
    as the BL32 image when ``ARCH=aarch32``. The value should be the path to the
    directory containing the SP source, relative to the ``bl32/``; the directory
diff --git a/make_helpers/defaults.mk b/make_helpers/defaults.mk
index 49f403d2e..908da2216 100644
--- a/make_helpers/defaults.mk
+++ b/make_helpers/defaults.mk
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@
 # poised to handle dependencies, as all build variables would have a default
 # value by then.
 
+# Use T32 by default
+AARCH32_INSTRUCTION_SET		:= T32
+
 # The AArch32 Secure Payload to be built as BL32 image
 AARCH32_SP			:= none