diff --git a/lnwire/channel_update.go b/lnwire/channel_update.go
index 02dfa5dbdc..1788cdc7f5 100644
--- a/lnwire/channel_update.go
+++ b/lnwire/channel_update.go
@@ -13,6 +13,12 @@ import (
 // present in the ChannelUpdate.
 type ChanUpdateMsgFlags uint8
 
+const (
+	// ChanUpdateOptionMaxHtlc is a bit that indicates whether the
+	// optional htlc_maximum_msat field is present in this ChannelUpdate.
+	ChanUpdateOptionMaxHtlc ChanUpdateMsgFlags = 1 << iota
+)
+
 // String returns the bitfield flags as a string.
 func (c ChanUpdateMsgFlags) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%08b", c)
@@ -95,6 +101,9 @@ type ChannelUpdate struct {
 	// satoshi.
 	FeeRate uint32
 
+	// HtlcMaximumMsat is the maximum HTLC value which will be accepted.
+	HtlcMaximumMsat MilliSatoshi
+
 	// ExtraOpaqueData is the set of data that was appended to this
 	// message, some of which we may not actually know how to iterate or
 	// parse. By holding onto this data, we ensure that we're able to
@@ -129,6 +138,13 @@ func (a *ChannelUpdate) Decode(r io.Reader, pver uint32) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Now check whether the max HTLC field is present and read it if so.
+	if a.MessageFlags&ChanUpdateOptionMaxHtlc != 0 {
+		if err := ReadElements(r, &a.HtlcMaximumMsat); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Now that we've read out all the fields that we explicitly know of,
 	// we'll collect the remainder into the ExtraOpaqueData field. If there
 	// aren't any bytes, then we'll snip off the slice to avoid carrying
@@ -149,7 +165,7 @@ func (a *ChannelUpdate) Decode(r io.Reader, pver uint32) error {
 //
 // This is part of the lnwire.Message interface.
 func (a *ChannelUpdate) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
-	return WriteElements(w,
+	err := WriteElements(w,
 		a.Signature,
 		a.ChainHash[:],
 		a.ShortChannelID,
@@ -160,8 +176,21 @@ func (a *ChannelUpdate) Encode(w io.Writer, pver uint32) error {
 		a.HtlcMinimumMsat,
 		a.BaseFee,
 		a.FeeRate,
-		a.ExtraOpaqueData,
 	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Now append optional fields if they are set. Currently, the only
+	// optional field is max HTLC.
+	if a.MessageFlags&ChanUpdateOptionMaxHtlc != 0 {
+		if err := WriteElements(w, a.HtlcMaximumMsat); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Finally, append any extra opaque data.
+	return WriteElements(w, a.ExtraOpaqueData)
 }
 
 // MsgType returns the integer uniquely identifying this message type on the
@@ -196,11 +225,23 @@ func (a *ChannelUpdate) DataToSign() ([]byte, error) {
 		a.HtlcMinimumMsat,
 		a.BaseFee,
 		a.FeeRate,
-		a.ExtraOpaqueData,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// Now append optional fields if they are set. Currently, the only
+	// optional field is max HTLC.
+	if a.MessageFlags&ChanUpdateOptionMaxHtlc != 0 {
+		if err := WriteElements(&w, a.HtlcMaximumMsat); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Finally, append any extra opaque data.
+	if err := WriteElements(&w, a.ExtraOpaqueData); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	return w.Bytes(), nil
 }
diff --git a/lnwire/lnwire_test.go b/lnwire/lnwire_test.go
index 91de511b27..c4f9c26b75 100644
--- a/lnwire/lnwire_test.go
+++ b/lnwire/lnwire_test.go
@@ -656,6 +656,7 @@ func TestLightningWireProtocol(t *testing.T) {
 				ChannelFlags:    ChanUpdateChanFlags(r.Int31()),
 				TimeLockDelta:   uint16(r.Int31()),
 				HtlcMinimumMsat: MilliSatoshi(r.Int63()),
+				HtlcMaximumMsat: MilliSatoshi(r.Int63()),
 				BaseFee:         uint32(r.Int31()),
 				FeeRate:         uint32(r.Int31()),
 			}