diff --git a/src/iceberg/CMakeLists.txt b/src/iceberg/CMakeLists.txt
index c9fe7836c..0240161f5 100644
--- a/src/iceberg/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/iceberg/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ set(ICEBERG_SOURCES
     expression/expression.cc
     file_reader.cc
     json_internal.cc
+    metadata_columns.cc
     name_mapping.cc
     partition_field.cc
     partition_spec.cc
diff --git a/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.cc b/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.cc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c2521133
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+#include "iceberg/metadata_columns.h"
+
+#include <unordered_map>
+
+namespace iceberg {
+
+namespace {
+
+using MetadataColumnMap = std::unordered_map<std::string_view, const SchemaField*>;
+
+const MetadataColumnMap& GetMetadataColumnMap() {
+  static const MetadataColumnMap kMetadataColumnMap = {
+      {MetadataColumns::kFilePath.name(), &MetadataColumns::kFilePath},
+      {MetadataColumns::kRowPosition.name(), &MetadataColumns::kRowPosition},
+      {MetadataColumns::kIsDeleted.name(), &MetadataColumns::kIsDeleted},
+      {MetadataColumns::kSpecId.name(), &MetadataColumns::kSpecId},
+      {MetadataColumns::kRowId.name(), &MetadataColumns::kRowId},
+      {MetadataColumns::kLastUpdatedSequenceNumber.name(),
+       &MetadataColumns::kLastUpdatedSequenceNumber}};
+  return kMetadataColumnMap;
+}
+
+const std::set<int32_t>& GetMetadataFieldIdSet() {
+  static const std::set<int32_t> kMetadataFieldIds = {
+      MetadataColumns::kFilePath.field_id(),
+      MetadataColumns::kRowPosition.field_id(),
+      MetadataColumns::kIsDeleted.field_id(),
+      MetadataColumns::kSpecId.field_id(),
+      MetadataColumns::kPartitionColumnId,
+      MetadataColumns::kRowId.field_id(),
+      MetadataColumns::kLastUpdatedSequenceNumber.field_id()};
+  return kMetadataFieldIds;
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+const std::set<int32_t>& MetadataColumns::MetadataFieldIds() {
+  return GetMetadataFieldIdSet();
+}
+
+bool MetadataColumns::IsMetadataColumn(std::string_view name) {
+  return name == kPartitionColumnName ||
+         GetMetadataColumnMap().find(name) != GetMetadataColumnMap().end();
+}
+
+bool MetadataColumns::IsMetadataColumn(int32_t id) {
+  return GetMetadataFieldIdSet().find(id) != GetMetadataFieldIdSet().end();
+}
+
+Result<const SchemaField*> MetadataColumns::MetadataColumn(std::string_view name) {
+  const auto& metadata_column_map = GetMetadataColumnMap();
+  const auto it = metadata_column_map.find(name);
+  if (it == metadata_column_map.cend()) {
+    return InvalidArgument("Unknown metadata column: {}", name);
+  }
+  return it->second;
+}
+
+}  // namespace iceberg
diff --git a/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.h b/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a12aa5ed5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/iceberg/metadata_columns.h
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+/// \file iceberg/metadata_columns.h
+/// Metadata columns for reading Iceberg data files.
+
+#include <limits>
+#include <memory>
+#include <set>
+#include <string_view>
+
+#include "iceberg/iceberg_export.h"
+#include "iceberg/result.h"
+#include "iceberg/schema_field.h"
+#include "iceberg/type.h"
+
+namespace iceberg {
+
+/// \brief A class containing constants and utility methods for metadata columns
+struct ICEBERG_EXPORT MetadataColumns {
+  constexpr static int32_t kInt32Max = std::numeric_limits<int32_t>::max();
+
+  // IDs kInt32Max - (1-100) are used for metadata columns
+  inline static const SchemaField kFilePath =
+      SchemaField::MakeRequired(kInt32Max - 1, "_file", std::make_shared<StringType>(),
+                                "Path of the file in which a row is stored");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kRowPosition =
+      SchemaField::MakeRequired(kInt32Max - 2, "_pos", std::make_shared<LongType>(),
+                                "Ordinal position of a row in the source data file");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kIsDeleted = SchemaField::MakeRequired(
+      kInt32Max - 3, "_deleted", std::make_shared<BooleanType>(),
+      "Whether the row has been deleted");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kSpecId =
+      SchemaField::MakeRequired(kInt32Max - 4, "_spec_id", std::make_shared<IntType>(),
+                                "Spec ID used to track the file containing a row");
+
+  // The partition column type depends on all specs in the table
+  constexpr static int32_t kPartitionColumnId = kInt32Max - 5;
+  constexpr static std::string_view kPartitionColumnName = "_partition";
+  constexpr static std::string_view kPartitionColumnDoc =
+      "Partition to which a row belongs to";
+
+  constexpr static int32_t kContentOffsetColumnId = kInt32Max - 6;
+  constexpr static int32_t kContentSizeInBytesColumnId = kInt32Max - 7;
+
+  // IDs kInt32Max - (101-200) are used for reserved columns
+  inline static const SchemaField kDeleteFilePath = SchemaField::MakeRequired(
+      kInt32Max - 101, "file_path", std::make_shared<StringType>(),
+      "Path of a file in which a deleted row is stored");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kDeleteFilePos =
+      SchemaField::MakeRequired(kInt32Max - 102, "pos", std::make_shared<LongType>(),
+                                "Ordinal position of a deleted row in the data file");
+
+  // The row column type depends on the table schema
+  constexpr static int32_t kDeleteFileRowFieldId = kInt32Max - 103;
+  constexpr static std::string_view kDeleteFileRowFieldName = "row";
+  constexpr static std::string_view kDeleteFileRowDoc = "Deleted row values";
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kChangeType = SchemaField::MakeRequired(
+      kInt32Max - 104, "_change_type", std::make_shared<StringType>(),
+      "Record type in changelog");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kChangeOrdinal = SchemaField::MakeOptional(
+      kInt32Max - 105, "_change_ordinal", std::make_shared<IntType>(),
+      "Change ordinal in changelog");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kCommitSnapshotId =
+      SchemaField::MakeOptional(kInt32Max - 106, "_commit_snapshot_id",
+                                std::make_shared<LongType>(), "Commit snapshot ID");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kRowId =
+      SchemaField::MakeOptional(kInt32Max - 107, "_row_id", std::make_shared<LongType>(),
+                                "Implicit row ID that is automatically assigned");
+
+  inline static const SchemaField kLastUpdatedSequenceNumber = SchemaField::MakeOptional(
+      kInt32Max - 108, "_last_updated_sequence_number", std::make_shared<LongType>(),
+      "Sequence number when the row was last updated");
+
+  /// \brief Get the set of metadata field IDs.
+  static const std::set<int32_t>& MetadataFieldIds();
+
+  /// \brief Check if a column name is a metadata column.
+  static bool IsMetadataColumn(std::string_view name);
+
+  /// \brief Check if a column ID is a metadata column.
+  static bool IsMetadataColumn(int32_t id);
+
+  /// \brief Get a metadata column by name.
+  ///
+  /// \param name The name of the metadata column.
+  /// \return The metadata column, or an error if the name does not refer to a metadata
+  /// column. The returned pointer is guaranteed to be valid.
+  static Result<const SchemaField*> MetadataColumn(std::string_view name);
+
+  /// TODO(gangwu): add functions to build partition columns from a table schema
+};
+
+}  // namespace iceberg