diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/CHANGES.txt b/hadoop-yarn-project/CHANGES.txt
index dcf3538de2d..a21df9e21a2 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/CHANGES.txt
@@ -177,6 +177,10 @@ Release 2.8.0 - UNRELEASED
     YARN-3406. Display count of running containers in the RM's Web UI.
     (Ryu Kobayashi via ozawa)
 
+    YARN-3363. add localization and container launch time to ContainerMetrics
+    at NM to show these timing information for each active container.
+    (zxu via rkanter)
+
   OPTIMIZATIONS
 
     YARN-3339. TestDockerContainerExecutor should pull a single image and not
diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/container/ContainerImpl.java b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/container/ContainerImpl.java
index 68669aad61a..9997ca2ac88 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/container/ContainerImpl.java
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/container/ContainerImpl.java
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ public class ContainerImpl implements Container {
   private int exitCode = ContainerExitStatus.INVALID;
   private final StringBuilder diagnostics;
   private boolean wasLaunched;
+  private long containerLocalizationStartTime;
   private long containerLaunchStartTime;
   private static Clock clock = new SystemClock();
 
@@ -493,16 +494,21 @@ public class ContainerImpl implements Container {
   // resource usage.
   @SuppressWarnings("unchecked") // dispatcher not typed
   private void sendContainerMonitorStartEvent() {
-      long pmemBytes = getResource().getMemory() * 1024 * 1024L;
-      float pmemRatio = daemonConf.getFloat(
-          YarnConfiguration.NM_VMEM_PMEM_RATIO,
-          YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_NM_VMEM_PMEM_RATIO);
-      long vmemBytes = (long) (pmemRatio * pmemBytes);
-      int cpuVcores = getResource().getVirtualCores();
+    long launchDuration = clock.getTime() - containerLaunchStartTime;
+    metrics.addContainerLaunchDuration(launchDuration);
 
-      dispatcher.getEventHandler().handle(
-          new ContainerStartMonitoringEvent(containerId,
-              vmemBytes, pmemBytes, cpuVcores));
+    long pmemBytes = getResource().getMemory() * 1024 * 1024L;
+    float pmemRatio = daemonConf.getFloat(
+        YarnConfiguration.NM_VMEM_PMEM_RATIO,
+        YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_NM_VMEM_PMEM_RATIO);
+    long vmemBytes = (long) (pmemRatio * pmemBytes);
+    int cpuVcores = getResource().getVirtualCores();
+    long localizationDuration = containerLaunchStartTime -
+        containerLocalizationStartTime;
+    dispatcher.getEventHandler().handle(
+        new ContainerStartMonitoringEvent(containerId,
+        vmemBytes, pmemBytes, cpuVcores, launchDuration,
+        localizationDuration));
   }
 
   private void addDiagnostics(String... diags) {
@@ -601,6 +607,7 @@ public class ContainerImpl implements Container {
         }
       }
 
+      container.containerLocalizationStartTime = clock.getTime();
       // Send requests for public, private resources
       Map<String,LocalResource> cntrRsrc = ctxt.getLocalResources();
       if (!cntrRsrc.isEmpty()) {
@@ -756,8 +763,6 @@ public class ContainerImpl implements Container {
       container.sendContainerMonitorStartEvent();
       container.metrics.runningContainer();
       container.wasLaunched  = true;
-      long duration = clock.getTime() - container.containerLaunchStartTime;
-      container.metrics.addContainerLaunchDuration(duration);
 
       if (container.recoveredAsKilled) {
         LOG.info("Killing " + container.containerId
diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerMetrics.java b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerMetrics.java
index ffa72a415d5..c364143241c 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerMetrics.java
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerMetrics.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.annotation.Metrics;
 import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.lib.DefaultMetricsSystem;
 import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.lib.MetricsRegistry;
 import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.lib.MutableGaugeInt;
+import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.lib.MutableGaugeLong;
 import org.apache.hadoop.metrics2.lib.MutableStat;
 import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ContainerId;
 
@@ -46,6 +47,9 @@ public class ContainerMetrics implements MetricsSource {
   public static final String VMEM_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME = "vMemLimitMBs";
   public static final String VCORE_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME = "vCoreLimit";
   public static final String PMEM_USAGE_METRIC_NAME = "pMemUsageMBs";
+  public static final String LAUNCH_DURATION_METRIC_NAME = "launchDurationMs";
+  public static final String LOCALIZATION_DURATION_METRIC_NAME =
+      "localizationDurationMs";
   private static final String PHY_CPU_USAGE_METRIC_NAME = "pCpuUsagePercent";
 
   // Use a multiplier of 1000 to avoid losing too much precision when
@@ -74,6 +78,12 @@ public class ContainerMetrics implements MetricsSource {
   @Metric
   public MutableGaugeInt cpuVcoreLimit;
 
+  @Metric
+  public MutableGaugeLong launchDurationMs;
+
+  @Metric
+  public MutableGaugeLong localizationDurationMs;
+
   static final MetricsInfo RECORD_INFO =
       info("ContainerResource", "Resource limit and usage by container");
 
@@ -122,6 +132,10 @@ public class ContainerMetrics implements MetricsSource {
         VMEM_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME, "Virtual memory limit in MBs", 0);
     this.cpuVcoreLimit = registry.newGauge(
         VCORE_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME, "CPU limit in number of vcores", 0);
+    this.launchDurationMs = registry.newGauge(
+        LAUNCH_DURATION_METRIC_NAME, "Launch duration in MS", 0L);
+    this.localizationDurationMs = registry.newGauge(
+        LOCALIZATION_DURATION_METRIC_NAME, "Localization duration in MS", 0L);
   }
 
   ContainerMetrics tag(MetricsInfo info, ContainerId containerId) {
@@ -213,6 +227,12 @@ public class ContainerMetrics implements MetricsSource {
     this.cpuVcoreLimit.set(cpuVcores);
   }
 
+  public void recordStateChangeDurations(long launchDuration,
+      long localizationDuration) {
+    this.launchDurationMs.set(launchDuration);
+    this.localizationDurationMs.set(localizationDuration);
+  }
+
   private synchronized void scheduleTimerTaskIfRequired() {
     if (flushPeriodMs > 0) {
       // Lazily initialize timer
diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerStartMonitoringEvent.java b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerStartMonitoringEvent.java
index 56e2d8eed59..c09bebffa70 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerStartMonitoringEvent.java
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainerStartMonitoringEvent.java
@@ -25,13 +25,18 @@ public class ContainerStartMonitoringEvent extends ContainersMonitorEvent {
   private final long vmemLimit;
   private final long pmemLimit;
   private final int cpuVcores;
+  private final long launchDuration;
+  private final long localizationDuration;
 
   public ContainerStartMonitoringEvent(ContainerId containerId,
-      long vmemLimit, long pmemLimit, int cpuVcores) {
+      long vmemLimit, long pmemLimit, int cpuVcores, long launchDuration,
+      long localizationDuration) {
     super(containerId, ContainersMonitorEventType.START_MONITORING_CONTAINER);
     this.vmemLimit = vmemLimit;
     this.pmemLimit = pmemLimit;
     this.cpuVcores = cpuVcores;
+    this.launchDuration = launchDuration;
+    this.localizationDuration = localizationDuration;
   }
 
   public long getVmemLimit() {
@@ -45,4 +50,12 @@ public class ContainerStartMonitoringEvent extends ContainersMonitorEvent {
   public int getCpuVcores() {
     return this.cpuVcores;
   }
+
+  public long getLaunchDuration() {
+    return this.launchDuration;
+  }
+
+  public long getLocalizationDuration() {
+    return this.localizationDuration;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainersMonitorImpl.java b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainersMonitorImpl.java
index cce749e05ff..76bbda12f6a 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainersMonitorImpl.java
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/ContainersMonitorImpl.java
@@ -617,6 +617,15 @@ public class ContainersMonitorImpl extends AbstractService implements
     case START_MONITORING_CONTAINER:
       ContainerStartMonitoringEvent startEvent =
           (ContainerStartMonitoringEvent) monitoringEvent;
+
+      if (containerMetricsEnabled) {
+        ContainerMetrics usageMetrics = ContainerMetrics
+            .forContainer(containerId, containerMetricsPeriodMs);
+        usageMetrics.recordStateChangeDurations(
+            startEvent.getLaunchDuration(),
+            startEvent.getLocalizationDuration());
+      }
+
       synchronized (this.containersToBeAdded) {
         ProcessTreeInfo processTreeInfo =
             new ProcessTreeInfo(containerId, null, null,
diff --git a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/TestContainerMetrics.java b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/TestContainerMetrics.java
index c6286486083..bdf99943568 100644
--- a/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/TestContainerMetrics.java
+++ b/hadoop-yarn-project/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-server/hadoop-yarn-server-nodemanager/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/yarn/server/nodemanager/containermanager/monitor/TestContainerMetrics.java
@@ -87,10 +87,14 @@ public class TestContainerMetrics {
     int anyPmemLimit = 1024;
     int anyVmemLimit = 2048;
     int anyVcores = 10;
+    long anyLaunchDuration = 20L;
+    long anyLocalizationDuration = 1000L;
     String anyProcessId = "1234";
 
     metrics.recordResourceLimit(anyVmemLimit, anyPmemLimit, anyVcores);
     metrics.recordProcessId(anyProcessId);
+    metrics.recordStateChangeDurations(anyLaunchDuration,
+        anyLocalizationDuration);
 
     Thread.sleep(110);
     metrics.getMetrics(collector, true);
@@ -105,6 +109,12 @@ public class TestContainerMetrics {
     MetricsRecords.assertMetric(record, ContainerMetrics.VMEM_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME, anyVmemLimit);
     MetricsRecords.assertMetric(record, ContainerMetrics.VCORE_LIMIT_METRIC_NAME, anyVcores);
 
+    MetricsRecords.assertMetric(record,
+        ContainerMetrics.LAUNCH_DURATION_METRIC_NAME, anyLaunchDuration);
+    MetricsRecords.assertMetric(record,
+        ContainerMetrics.LOCALIZATION_DURATION_METRIC_NAME,
+        anyLocalizationDuration);
+
     collector.clear();
   }
 }