diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/test/compliance/r3_compiler_compliance_spec.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/test/compliance/r3_compiler_compliance_spec.ts
index d6126df419..836f6f11a3 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/test/compliance/r3_compiler_compliance_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/test/compliance/r3_compiler_compliance_spec.ts
@@ -1554,14 +1554,14 @@ describe('compiler compliance', () => {
               return new (t || ContentQueryComponent)();
             },
             contentQueries: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueries(dirIndex) {
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery(SomeDirective, true), dirIndex);
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery(SomeDirective, false), dirIndex);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, SomeDirective, true);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, SomeDirective, false);
             },
-            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex, queryStartIndex) {
+            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex) {
               const instance = $r3$.ɵload(dirIndex);
               var $tmp$;
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList(queryStartIndex))) && ($instance$.someDir = $tmp$.first));
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList((queryStartIndex + 1)))) && ($instance$.someDirList = $tmp$));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && ($instance$.someDir = $tmp$.first));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && ($instance$.someDirList = $tmp$));
             },
             ngContentSelectors: _c0,
             consts: 2,
@@ -1613,14 +1613,14 @@ describe('compiler compliance', () => {
           ContentQueryComponent.ngComponentDef = $r3$.ɵdefineComponent({
             …
             contentQueries: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueries(dirIndex) {
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery($e0_attrs$, true), dirIndex);
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery($e1_attrs$, false), dirIndex);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, $e0_attrs$, true);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, $e1_attrs$, false);
             },
-            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex, queryStartIndex) {
+            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex) {
               const instance = $r3$.ɵload(dirIndex);
               var $tmp$;
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList(queryStartIndex))) && (instance.myRef = $tmp$.first));
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList((queryStartIndex + 1)))) && (instance.myRefs = $tmp$));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.myRef = $tmp$.first));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.myRefs = $tmp$));
             },
             …
           });`;
@@ -1666,18 +1666,18 @@ describe('compiler compliance', () => {
           ContentQueryComponent.ngComponentDef = $r3$.ɵdefineComponent({
             …
             contentQueries: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueries(dirIndex) {
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery($e0_attrs$ , true, TemplateRef), dirIndex);
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery(SomeDirective, true, ElementRef), dirIndex);
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery($e1_attrs$, false, ElementRef), dirIndex);
-              $r3$.ɵregisterContentQuery($r3$.ɵquery(SomeDirective, false, TemplateRef), dirIndex);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, $e0_attrs$ , true, TemplateRef);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, SomeDirective, true, ElementRef);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, $e1_attrs$, false, ElementRef);
+              $r3$.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, SomeDirective, false, TemplateRef);
             },
-            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex, queryStartIndex) {
+            contentQueriesRefresh: function ContentQueryComponent_ContentQueriesRefresh(dirIndex) {
               const instance = $r3$.ɵload(dirIndex);
               var $tmp$;
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList(queryStartIndex))) && (instance.myRef = $tmp$.first));
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList((queryStartIndex + 1)))) && (instance.someDir = $tmp$.first));
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList((queryStartIndex + 2)))) && (instance.myRefs = $tmp$));
-              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadQueryList((queryStartIndex + 3)))) && (instance.someDirs = $tmp$));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.myRef = $tmp$.first));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.someDir = $tmp$.first));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.myRefs = $tmp$));
+              ($r3$.ɵqueryRefresh(($tmp$ = $r3$.ɵloadContentQuery())) && (instance.someDirs = $tmp$));
             },
             …
           });`;
diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
index b0b7e793e5..77305e1595 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/test/ngtsc/ngtsc_spec.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,18 @@ import {NgtscTestEnvironment} from './env';
 
 const trim = (input: string): string => input.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
 
+const varRegExp = (name: string): RegExp => new RegExp(`var \\w+ = \\[\"${name}\"\\];`);
+
+const viewQueryRegExp = (descend: boolean, ref?: string): RegExp => {
+  const maybeRef = ref ? `, ${ref}` : ``;
+  return new RegExp(`i0\\.ɵviewQuery\\(\\w+, ${descend}${maybeRef}\\)`);
+};
+
+const contentQueryRegExp = (predicate: string, descend: boolean, ref?: string): RegExp => {
+  const maybeRef = ref ? `, ${ref}` : ``;
+  return new RegExp(`i0\\.ɵcontentQuery\\(dirIndex, ${predicate}, ${descend}${maybeRef}\\)`);
+};
+
 describe('ngtsc behavioral tests', () => {
   if (!NgtscTestEnvironment.supported) {
     // These tests should be excluded from the non-Bazel build.
@@ -706,14 +718,6 @@ describe('ngtsc behavioral tests', () => {
   });
 
   it('should generate queries for components', () => {
-
-    // Helper functions to construct RegExps for output validation
-    const varRegExp = (name: string): RegExp => new RegExp(`var \\w+ = \\[\"${name}\"\\];`);
-    const queryRegExp = (fnName: string, descend: boolean, ref?: string | null): RegExp => {
-      const maybeRef = ref ? `, ${ref}` : ``;
-      return new RegExp(`i0\\.ɵ${fnName}\\(\\w+, ${descend}${maybeRef}\\)`);
-    };
-
     env.tsconfig();
     env.write(`test.ts`, `
         import {Component, ContentChild, ContentChildren, TemplateRef, ViewChild} from '@angular/core';
@@ -740,23 +744,10 @@ describe('ngtsc behavioral tests', () => {
     expect(jsContents).toMatch(varRegExp('test1'));
     expect(jsContents).toMatch(varRegExp('test2'));
     expect(jsContents).toMatch(varRegExp('accessor'));
-    expect(jsContents).toContain(`i0.ɵquery(TemplateRef, false)`);
-    expect(jsContents)
-        .toMatch(
-            // match `i0.ɵquery(_c0, true, TemplateRef)`
-            queryRegExp('query', true, 'TemplateRef'));
-    expect(jsContents)
-        .toMatch(
-            // match `i0.ɵquery(_c0, true)`
-            queryRegExp('query', true));
-    expect(jsContents)
-        .toMatch(
-            // match `i0.ɵviewQuery(_c0, true)`
-            queryRegExp('viewQuery', true));
-    expect(jsContents)
-        .toMatch(
-            // match `i0.ɵviewQuery(_c0, true)`
-            queryRegExp('viewQuery', true));
+    // match `i0.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, _c1, true, TemplateRef)`
+    expect(jsContents).toMatch(contentQueryRegExp('\\w+', true, 'TemplateRef'));
+    // match `i0.ɵviewQuery(_c2, true)`
+    expect(jsContents).toMatch(viewQueryRegExp(true));
   });
 
   it('should handle queries that use forwardRef', () => {
@@ -777,8 +768,10 @@ describe('ngtsc behavioral tests', () => {
 
     env.driveMain();
     const jsContents = env.getContents('test.js');
-    expect(jsContents).toContain(`i0.ɵquery(TemplateRef, true)`);
-    expect(jsContents).toContain(`i0.ɵquery(ViewContainerRef, true)`);
+    // match `i0.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, TemplateRef, true)`
+    expect(jsContents).toMatch(contentQueryRegExp('TemplateRef', true));
+    // match `i0.ɵcontentQuery(dirIndex, ViewContainerRef, true)`
+    expect(jsContents).toMatch(contentQueryRegExp('ViewContainerRef', true));
   });
 
   it('should generate host listeners for components', () => {
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/render3/r3_identifiers.ts b/packages/compiler/src/render3/r3_identifiers.ts
index 2a52f5619e..2b156e1354 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/render3/r3_identifiers.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/render3/r3_identifiers.ts
@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ export class Identifiers {
   static i18nPostprocess: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵi18nPostprocess', moduleName: CORE};
 
   static load: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵload', moduleName: CORE};
-  static loadQueryList: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵloadQueryList', moduleName: CORE};
 
   static pipe: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵpipe', moduleName: CORE};
 
@@ -185,12 +184,11 @@ export class Identifiers {
 
   static definePipe: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵdefinePipe', moduleName: CORE};
 
-  static query: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵquery', moduleName: CORE};
   static queryRefresh: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵqueryRefresh', moduleName: CORE};
   static viewQuery: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵviewQuery', moduleName: CORE};
   static loadViewQuery: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵloadViewQuery', moduleName: CORE};
-  static registerContentQuery:
-      o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵregisterContentQuery', moduleName: CORE};
+  static contentQuery: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵcontentQuery', moduleName: CORE};
+  static loadContentQuery: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵloadContentQuery', moduleName: CORE};
 
   static NgOnChangesFeature: o.ExternalReference = {name: 'ɵNgOnChangesFeature', moduleName: CORE};
 
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/render3/view/compiler.ts b/packages/compiler/src/render3/view/compiler.ts
index df84da23ed..7801a3ff61 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/render3/view/compiler.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/render3/view/compiler.ts
@@ -496,10 +496,6 @@ function prepareQueryParams(query: R3QueryMetadata, constantPool: ConstantPool):
   return parameters;
 }
 
-function createQueryDefinition(query: R3QueryMetadata, constantPool: ConstantPool): o.Expression {
-  return o.importExpr(R3.query).callFn(prepareQueryParams(query, constantPool));
-}
-
 // Turn a directive selector into an R3-compatible selector for directive def
 function createDirectiveSelector(selector: string | null): o.Expression {
   return asLiteral(core.parseSelectorToR3Selector(selector));
@@ -519,10 +515,8 @@ function createContentQueriesFunction(
     meta: R3DirectiveMetadata, constantPool: ConstantPool): o.Expression|null {
   if (meta.queries.length) {
     const statements: o.Statement[] = meta.queries.map((query: R3QueryMetadata) => {
-      const queryDefinition = createQueryDefinition(query, constantPool);
-      return o.importExpr(R3.registerContentQuery)
-          .callFn([queryDefinition, o.variable('dirIndex')])
-          .toStmt();
+      const args = [o.variable('dirIndex'), ...prepareQueryParams(query, constantPool) as any];
+      return o.importExpr(R3.contentQuery).callFn(args).toStmt();
     });
     const typeName = meta.name;
     const parameters = [new o.FnParam('dirIndex', o.NUMBER_TYPE)];
@@ -539,10 +533,7 @@ function createContentQueriesRefreshFunction(meta: R3DirectiveMetadata): o.Expre
   if (meta.queries.length > 0) {
     const statements: o.Statement[] = [];
     const typeName = meta.name;
-    const parameters = [
-      new o.FnParam('dirIndex', o.NUMBER_TYPE),
-      new o.FnParam('queryStartIndex', o.NUMBER_TYPE),
-    ];
+    const parameters = [new o.FnParam('dirIndex', o.NUMBER_TYPE)];
     const directiveInstanceVar = o.variable('instance');
     // var $tmp$: any;
     const temporary = temporaryAllocator(statements, TEMPORARY_NAME);
@@ -551,11 +542,8 @@ function createContentQueriesRefreshFunction(meta: R3DirectiveMetadata): o.Expre
     statements.push(directiveInstanceVar.set(o.importExpr(R3.load).callFn([o.variable('dirIndex')]))
                         .toDeclStmt(o.INFERRED_TYPE, [o.StmtModifier.Final]));
 
-    meta.queries.forEach((query: R3QueryMetadata, idx: number) => {
-      const loadQLArg = o.variable('queryStartIndex');
-      const getQueryList = o.importExpr(R3.loadQueryList).callFn([
-        idx > 0 ? loadQLArg.plus(o.literal(idx)) : loadQLArg
-      ]);
+    meta.queries.forEach((query: R3QueryMetadata) => {
+      const getQueryList = o.importExpr(R3.loadContentQuery).callFn([]);
       const assignToTemporary = temporary().set(getQueryList);
       const callQueryRefresh = o.importExpr(R3.queryRefresh).callFn([assignToTemporary]);
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/core_render3_private_export.ts b/packages/core/src/core_render3_private_export.ts
index ecbc038637..dc0e5e97b3 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/core_render3_private_export.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/core_render3_private_export.ts
@@ -47,8 +47,6 @@ export {
   listener as ɵlistener,
   text as ɵtext,
   embeddedViewStart as ɵembeddedViewStart,
-  query as ɵquery,
-  registerContentQuery as ɵregisterContentQuery,
   projection as ɵprojection,
   bind as ɵbind,
   interpolation1 as ɵinterpolation1,
@@ -84,7 +82,8 @@ export {
   queryRefresh as ɵqueryRefresh,
   viewQuery as ɵviewQuery,
   loadViewQuery as ɵloadViewQuery,
-  loadQueryList as ɵloadQueryList,
+  contentQuery as ɵcontentQuery,
+  loadContentQuery as ɵloadContentQuery,
   elementEnd as ɵelementEnd,
   elementProperty as ɵelementProperty,
   componentHostSyntheticProperty as ɵcomponentHostSyntheticProperty,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/definition.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/definition.ts
index c5adb32876..2e9ca3bb8d 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/definition.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/definition.ts
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ export function defineComponent<T>(componentDefinition: {
   contentQueries?: ((dirIndex: number) => void);
 
   /** Refreshes content queries associated with directives in a given view */
-  contentQueriesRefresh?: ((directiveIndex: number, queryIndex: number) => void);
+  contentQueriesRefresh?: ((directiveIndex: number) => void);
 
   /**
    * Defines the name that can be used in the template to assign this directive to a variable.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/features/inherit_definition_feature.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/features/inherit_definition_feature.ts
index 0f03ddb3a6..a1af15752f 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/features/inherit_definition_feature.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/features/inherit_definition_feature.ts
@@ -103,9 +103,9 @@ export function InheritDefinitionFeature(definition: DirectiveDef<any>| Componen
       const superContentQueries = superDef.contentQueries;
       if (superContentQueries) {
         if (prevContentQueries) {
-          definition.contentQueries = (dirIndex: number) => {
-            superContentQueries(dirIndex);
-            prevContentQueries(dirIndex);
+          definition.contentQueries = (directiveIndex: number) => {
+            superContentQueries(directiveIndex);
+            prevContentQueries(directiveIndex);
           };
         } else {
           definition.contentQueries = superContentQueries;
@@ -117,9 +117,9 @@ export function InheritDefinitionFeature(definition: DirectiveDef<any>| Componen
       const superContentQueriesRefresh = superDef.contentQueriesRefresh;
       if (superContentQueriesRefresh) {
         if (prevContentQueriesRefresh) {
-          definition.contentQueriesRefresh = (directiveIndex: number, queryIndex: number) => {
-            superContentQueriesRefresh(directiveIndex, queryIndex);
-            prevContentQueriesRefresh(directiveIndex, queryIndex);
+          definition.contentQueriesRefresh = (directiveIndex: number) => {
+            superContentQueriesRefresh(directiveIndex);
+            prevContentQueriesRefresh(directiveIndex);
           };
         } else {
           definition.contentQueriesRefresh = superContentQueriesRefresh;
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/index.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/index.ts
index 58eab2fe86..447538a3b3 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/index.ts
@@ -122,15 +122,12 @@ export {
 } from './pipe';
 
 export {
-  query,
   queryRefresh,
   viewQuery,
   loadViewQuery,
+  contentQuery,
+  loadContentQuery,
 } from './query';
-export  {
-  registerContentQuery,
-  loadQueryList,
-} from './instructions';
 
 export {
   pureFunction0,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/instructions.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/instructions.ts
index 932e896f58..b5562d9909 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/instructions.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/instructions.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ import {BINDING_INDEX, CLEANUP, CONTAINER_INDEX, CONTENT_QUERIES, CONTEXT, DECLA
 import {assertNodeOfPossibleTypes, assertNodeType} from './node_assert';
 import {appendChild, appendProjectedNode, createTextNode, getLViewChild, insertView, removeView} from './node_manipulation';
 import {isNodeMatchingSelectorList, matchingSelectorIndex} from './node_selector_matcher';
-import {decreaseElementDepthCount, enterView, getBindingsEnabled, getCheckNoChangesMode, getContextLView, getCurrentDirectiveDef, getCurrentViewQueryIndex, getElementDepthCount, getFirstTemplatePass, getIsParent, getLView, getPreviousOrParentTNode, increaseElementDepthCount, isCreationMode, leaveView, nextContextImpl, resetComponentState, setBindingRoot, setCheckNoChangesMode, setCurrentDirectiveDef, setCurrentViewQueryIndex, setFirstTemplatePass, setIsParent, setPreviousOrParentTNode} from './state';
+import {decreaseElementDepthCount, enterView, getBindingsEnabled, getCheckNoChangesMode, getContextLView, getCurrentDirectiveDef, getCurrentQueryIndex, getElementDepthCount, getFirstTemplatePass, getIsParent, getLView, getPreviousOrParentTNode, increaseElementDepthCount, isCreationMode, leaveView, nextContextImpl, resetComponentState, setBindingRoot, setCheckNoChangesMode, setCurrentDirectiveDef, setCurrentQueryIndex, setFirstTemplatePass, setIsParent, setPreviousOrParentTNode} from './state';
 import {getInitialClassNameValue, initializeStaticContext as initializeStaticStylingContext, patchContextWithStaticAttrs, renderInitialStylesAndClasses, renderStyling, updateClassProp as updateElementClassProp, updateContextWithBindings, updateStyleProp as updateElementStyleProp, updateStylingMap} from './styling/class_and_style_bindings';
 import {BoundPlayerFactory} from './styling/player_factory';
 import {createEmptyStylingContext, getStylingContext, hasClassInput, hasStyling, isAnimationProp} from './styling/util';
@@ -137,12 +137,11 @@ export function setHostBindings(tView: TView, viewData: LView): void {
 /** Refreshes content queries for all directives in the given view. */
 function refreshContentQueries(tView: TView): void {
   if (tView.contentQueries != null) {
-    for (let i = 0; i < tView.contentQueries.length; i += 2) {
+    setCurrentQueryIndex(0);
+    for (let i = 0; i < tView.contentQueries.length; i++) {
       const directiveDefIdx = tView.contentQueries[i];
       const directiveDef = tView.data[directiveDefIdx] as DirectiveDef<any>;
-
-      directiveDef.contentQueriesRefresh !(
-          directiveDefIdx - HEADER_OFFSET, tView.contentQueries[i + 1]);
+      directiveDef.contentQueriesRefresh !(directiveDefIdx - HEADER_OFFSET);
     }
   }
 }
@@ -2762,7 +2761,7 @@ export function checkView<T>(hostView: LView, component: T) {
 function executeViewQueryFn<T>(lView: LView, tView: TView, component: T): void {
   const viewQuery = tView.viewQuery;
   if (viewQuery) {
-    setCurrentViewQueryIndex(tView.viewQueryStartIndex);
+    setCurrentQueryIndex(tView.viewQueryStartIndex);
     viewQuery(getRenderFlags(lView), component);
   }
 }
@@ -3111,16 +3110,6 @@ export function reference<T>(index: number) {
   return loadInternal<T>(contextLView, index);
 }
 
-export function loadQueryList<T>(queryListIdx: number): QueryList<T> {
-  const lView = getLView();
-  ngDevMode &&
-      assertDefined(
-          lView[CONTENT_QUERIES], 'Content QueryList array should be defined if reading a query.');
-  ngDevMode && assertDataInRange(lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] !, queryListIdx);
-
-  return lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] ![queryListIdx];
-}
-
 /** Retrieves a value from current `viewData`. */
 export function load<T>(index: number): T {
   return loadInternal<T>(getLView(), index);
@@ -3170,26 +3159,6 @@ export function injectAttribute(attrNameToInject: string): string|null {
   return injectAttributeImpl(getPreviousOrParentTNode(), attrNameToInject);
 }
 
-/**
- * Registers a QueryList, associated with a content query, for later refresh (part of a view
- * refresh).
- */
-export function registerContentQuery<Q>(
-    queryList: QueryList<Q>, currentDirectiveIndex: number): void {
-  const viewData = getLView();
-  const tView = viewData[TVIEW];
-  const savedContentQueriesLength =
-      (viewData[CONTENT_QUERIES] || (viewData[CONTENT_QUERIES] = [])).push(queryList);
-  if (getFirstTemplatePass()) {
-    const tViewContentQueries = tView.contentQueries || (tView.contentQueries = []);
-    const lastSavedDirectiveIndex =
-        tView.contentQueries.length ? tView.contentQueries[tView.contentQueries.length - 2] : -1;
-    if (currentDirectiveIndex !== lastSavedDirectiveIndex) {
-      tViewContentQueries.push(currentDirectiveIndex, savedContentQueriesLength - 1);
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 export const CLEAN_PROMISE = _CLEAN_PROMISE;
 
 function initializeTNodeInputs(tNode: TNode | null): PropertyAliases|null {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/definition.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/definition.ts
index b4a1614e14..4e7eac276b 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/definition.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/definition.ts
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ export interface DirectiveDef<T> extends BaseDef<T> {
   contentQueries: ((directiveIndex: number) => void)|null;
 
   /** Refreshes content queries associated with directives in a given view */
-  contentQueriesRefresh: ((directiveIndex: number, queryIndex: number) => void)|null;
+  contentQueriesRefresh: ((directiveIndex: number) => void)|null;
 
   /** Refreshes host bindings on the associated directive. */
   hostBindings: HostBindingsFunction<T>|null;
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/view.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/view.ts
index b501bd508d..32e93e38f0 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/view.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/interfaces/view.ts
@@ -509,9 +509,6 @@ export interface TView {
 
   /**
    * A list of indices for child directives that have content queries.
-   *
-   * Even indices: Directive indices
-   * Odd indices: Starting index of content queries (stored in CONTENT_QUERIES) for this directive
    */
   contentQueries: number[]|null;
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/jit/environment.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/jit/environment.ts
index a5aa778f9a..81b440d3c2 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/jit/environment.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/jit/environment.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ export const angularCoreEnv: {[name: string]: Function} = {
   'ɵnextContext': r3.nextContext,
   'ɵcontainerRefreshStart': r3.containerRefreshStart,
   'ɵcontainerRefreshEnd': r3.containerRefreshEnd,
-  'ɵloadQueryList': r3.loadQueryList,
   'ɵnamespaceHTML': r3.namespaceHTML,
   'ɵnamespaceMathML': r3.namespaceMathML,
   'ɵnamespaceSVG': r3.namespaceSVG,
@@ -87,11 +86,11 @@ export const angularCoreEnv: {[name: string]: Function} = {
   'ɵpipeBindV': r3.pipeBindV,
   'ɵprojectionDef': r3.projectionDef,
   'ɵpipe': r3.pipe,
-  'ɵquery': r3.query,
   'ɵqueryRefresh': r3.queryRefresh,
   'ɵviewQuery': r3.viewQuery,
   'ɵloadViewQuery': r3.loadViewQuery,
-  'ɵregisterContentQuery': r3.registerContentQuery,
+  'ɵcontentQuery': r3.contentQuery,
+  'ɵloadContentQuery': r3.loadContentQuery,
   'ɵreference': r3.reference,
   'ɵelementStyling': r3.elementStyling,
   'ɵelementHostAttrs': r3.elementHostAttrs,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/query.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/query.ts
index 45dad1b18e..4e729c6d02 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/query.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/query.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import {Type} from '../interface/type';
 import {ElementRef as ViewEngine_ElementRef} from '../linker/element_ref';
 import {QueryList} from '../linker/query_list';
 import {TemplateRef as ViewEngine_TemplateRef} from '../linker/template_ref';
-import {assertDefined, assertEqual} from '../util/assert';
+import {assertDataInRange, assertDefined, assertEqual} from '../util/assert';
 
 import {assertPreviousIsParent} from './assert';
 import {getNodeInjectable, locateDirectiveOrProvider} from './di';
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ import {unusedValueExportToPlacateAjd as unused1} from './interfaces/definition'
 import {unusedValueExportToPlacateAjd as unused2} from './interfaces/injector';
 import {TContainerNode, TElementContainerNode, TElementNode, TNode, TNodeType, unusedValueExportToPlacateAjd as unused3} from './interfaces/node';
 import {LQueries, unusedValueExportToPlacateAjd as unused4} from './interfaces/query';
-import {HEADER_OFFSET, LView, TVIEW} from './interfaces/view';
-import {getCurrentViewQueryIndex, getIsParent, getLView, getOrCreateCurrentQueries, setCurrentViewQueryIndex} from './state';
+import {CONTENT_QUERIES, HEADER_OFFSET, LView, TVIEW} from './interfaces/view';
+import {getCurrentQueryIndex, getFirstTemplatePass, getIsParent, getLView, getOrCreateCurrentQueries, setCurrentQueryIndex} from './state';
 import {isContentQueryHost} from './util';
 import {createElementRef, createTemplateRef} from './view_engine_compatibility';
 
@@ -405,10 +405,10 @@ export function viewQuery<T>(
   if (tView.firstTemplatePass) {
     tView.expandoStartIndex++;
   }
-  const index = getCurrentViewQueryIndex();
+  const index = getCurrentQueryIndex();
   const viewQuery: QueryList<T> = query<T>(predicate, descend, read);
   store(index - HEADER_OFFSET, viewQuery);
-  setCurrentViewQueryIndex(index + 1);
+  setCurrentQueryIndex(index + 1);
   return viewQuery;
 }
 
@@ -416,7 +416,49 @@ export function viewQuery<T>(
 * Loads current View Query and moves the pointer/index to the next View Query in LView.
 */
 export function loadViewQuery<T>(): T {
-  const index = getCurrentViewQueryIndex();
-  setCurrentViewQueryIndex(index + 1);
+  const index = getCurrentQueryIndex();
+  setCurrentQueryIndex(index + 1);
   return load<T>(index - HEADER_OFFSET);
 }
+
+/**
+ * Registers a QueryList, associated with a content query, for later refresh (part of a view
+ * refresh).
+ *
+ * @param directiveIndex Current directive index
+ * @param predicate The type for which the query will search
+ * @param descend Whether or not to descend into children
+ * @param read What to save in the query
+ * @returns QueryList<T>
+ */
+export function contentQuery<T>(
+    directiveIndex: number, predicate: Type<any>| string[], descend?: boolean,
+    // TODO: "read" should be an AbstractType (FW-486)
+    read?: any): QueryList<T> {
+  const lView = getLView();
+  const tView = lView[TVIEW];
+  const contentQuery: QueryList<T> = query<T>(predicate, descend, read);
+  (lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] || (lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] = [])).push(contentQuery);
+  if (getFirstTemplatePass()) {
+    const tViewContentQueries = tView.contentQueries || (tView.contentQueries = []);
+    const lastSavedDirectiveIndex =
+        tView.contentQueries.length ? tView.contentQueries[tView.contentQueries.length - 1] : -1;
+    if (directiveIndex !== lastSavedDirectiveIndex) {
+      tViewContentQueries.push(directiveIndex);
+    }
+  }
+  return contentQuery;
+}
+
+export function loadContentQuery<T>(): QueryList<T> {
+  const lView = getLView();
+  ngDevMode &&
+      assertDefined(
+          lView[CONTENT_QUERIES], 'Content QueryList array should be defined if reading a query.');
+
+  const index = getCurrentQueryIndex();
+  ngDevMode && assertDataInRange(lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] !, index);
+
+  setCurrentQueryIndex(index + 1);
+  return lView[CONTENT_QUERIES] ![index];
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/state.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/state.ts
index 55ca7c3fa5..5b743d1968 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/state.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/state.ts
@@ -257,18 +257,18 @@ export function setBindingRoot(value: number) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Current index of a View Query which needs to be processed next.
- * We iterate over the list of View Queries stored in LView and increment current query index.
+ * Current index of a View or Content Query which needs to be processed next.
+ * We iterate over the list of Queries and increment current query index at every step.
  */
-let viewQueryIndex: number = 0;
+let currentQueryIndex: number = 0;
 
-export function getCurrentViewQueryIndex(): number {
+export function getCurrentQueryIndex(): number {
   // top level variables should not be exported for performance reasons (PERF_NOTES.md)
-  return viewQueryIndex;
+  return currentQueryIndex;
 }
 
-export function setCurrentViewQueryIndex(value: number): void {
-  viewQueryIndex = value;
+export function setCurrentQueryIndex(value: number): void {
+  currentQueryIndex = value;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/core/test/bundling/hello_world/bundle.golden_symbols.json b/packages/core/test/bundling/hello_world/bundle.golden_symbols.json
index 836307a50d..2cb69b4040 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/bundling/hello_world/bundle.golden_symbols.json
+++ b/packages/core/test/bundling/hello_world/bundle.golden_symbols.json
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@
     "name": "setCurrentDirectiveDef"
   },
   {
-    "name": "setCurrentViewQueryIndex"
+    "name": "setCurrentQueryIndex"
   },
   {
     "name": "setFirstTemplatePass"
diff --git a/packages/core/test/bundling/todo/bundle.golden_symbols.json b/packages/core/test/bundling/todo/bundle.golden_symbols.json
index d8f9477e9e..4e06286c1f 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/bundling/todo/bundle.golden_symbols.json
+++ b/packages/core/test/bundling/todo/bundle.golden_symbols.json
@@ -1134,7 +1134,7 @@
     "name": "setCurrentDirectiveDef"
   },
   {
-    "name": "setCurrentViewQueryIndex"
+    "name": "setCurrentQueryIndex"
   },
   {
     "name": "setDirectiveDirty"
diff --git a/packages/core/test/render3/host_binding_spec.ts b/packages/core/test/render3/host_binding_spec.ts
index 34321f6d5a..a80eb9373b 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/render3/host_binding_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/render3/host_binding_spec.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@
 import {ElementRef, QueryList, ViewContainerRef} from '@angular/core';
 
 import {AttributeMarker, defineComponent, template, defineDirective, InheritDefinitionFeature, ProvidersFeature, NgOnChangesFeature} from '../../src/render3/index';
-import {allocHostVars, bind, directiveInject, element, elementAttribute, elementEnd, elementProperty, elementStyleProp, elementStyling, elementStylingApply, elementStart, listener, load, text, textBinding, loadQueryList, registerContentQuery, elementHostAttrs} from '../../src/render3/instructions';
-import {query, queryRefresh} from '../../src/render3/query';
+import {allocHostVars, bind, directiveInject, element, elementAttribute, elementEnd, elementProperty, elementStyleProp, elementStyling, elementStylingApply, elementStart, listener, load, text, textBinding, elementHostAttrs} from '../../src/render3/instructions';
+import {loadContentQuery, contentQuery, queryRefresh} from '../../src/render3/query';
 import {RenderFlags} from '../../src/render3/interfaces/definition';
 import {pureFunction1, pureFunction2} from '../../src/render3/pure_function';
 import {sanitizeUrl, sanitizeUrlOrResourceUrl, sanitizeHtml} from '../../src/sanitization/sanitization';
@@ -1009,11 +1009,11 @@ describe('host bindings', () => {
             elementProperty(elIndex, 'id', bind(ctx.foos.length), null, true);
           }
         },
-        contentQueries: (dirIndex) => { registerContentQuery(query(['foo']), dirIndex); },
-        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+        contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => { contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo']); },
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
           let tmp: any;
           const instance = load<HostBindingWithContentChildren>(dirIndex);
-          queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) && (instance.foos = tmp);
+          queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.foos = tmp);
         },
         template: (rf: RenderFlags, cmp: HostBindingWithContentChildren) => {}
       });
diff --git a/packages/core/test/render3/inherit_definition_feature_spec.ts b/packages/core/test/render3/inherit_definition_feature_spec.ts
index b86faf755c..cafa58a4a4 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/render3/inherit_definition_feature_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/render3/inherit_definition_feature_spec.ts
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
  * found in the LICENSE file at https://angular.io/license
  */
 
-import {Inject, InjectionToken, QueryList} from '../../src/core';
-import {ComponentDef, DirectiveDef, InheritDefinitionFeature, NgOnChangesFeature, ProvidersFeature, RenderFlags, allocHostVars, bind, defineBase, defineComponent, defineDirective, directiveInject, element, elementProperty, loadViewQuery, queryRefresh, viewQuery} from '../../src/render3/index';
+import {ElementRef, Inject, InjectionToken, QueryList, ɵAttributeMarker as AttributeMarker} from '../../src/core';
+import {ComponentDef, DirectiveDef, InheritDefinitionFeature, NgOnChangesFeature, ProvidersFeature, RenderFlags, allocHostVars, bind, contentQuery, defineBase, defineComponent, defineDirective, directiveInject, element, elementEnd, elementProperty, elementStart, load, loadContentQuery, loadViewQuery, queryRefresh, viewQuery} from '../../src/render3/index';
 
 import {ComponentFixture, createComponent, getDirectiveOnNode} from './render_util';
 
@@ -549,14 +549,14 @@ describe('InheritDefinitionFeature', () => {
   });
 
   it('should compose contentQueriesRefresh', () => {
-    const log: Array<[string, number, number]> = [];
+    const log: Array<[string, number]> = [];
 
     class SuperDirective {
       static ngDirectiveDef = defineDirective({
         type: SuperDirective,
         selectors: [['', 'superDir', '']],
-        contentQueriesRefresh: (directiveIndex: number, queryIndex: number) => {
-          log.push(['super', directiveIndex, queryIndex]);
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (directiveIndex: number) => {
+          log.push(['super', directiveIndex]);
         },
         factory: () => new SuperDirective(),
       });
@@ -566,8 +566,8 @@ describe('InheritDefinitionFeature', () => {
       static ngDirectiveDef = defineDirective({
         type: SubDirective,
         selectors: [['', 'subDir', '']],
-        contentQueriesRefresh: (directiveIndex: number, queryIndex: number) => {
-          log.push(['sub', directiveIndex, queryIndex]);
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (directiveIndex: number) => {
+          log.push(['sub', directiveIndex]);
         },
         factory: () => new SubDirective(),
         features: [InheritDefinitionFeature]
@@ -576,9 +576,68 @@ describe('InheritDefinitionFeature', () => {
 
     const subDef = SubDirective.ngDirectiveDef as DirectiveDef<any>;
 
-    subDef.contentQueriesRefresh !(1, 2);
+    subDef.contentQueriesRefresh !(1);
 
-    expect(log).toEqual([['super', 1, 2], ['sub', 1, 2]]);
+    expect(log).toEqual([['super', 1], ['sub', 1]]);
+  });
+
+  it('should compose contentQueries and contentQueriesRefresh', () => {
+    let dirInstance: SubDirective;
+    class SuperDirective {
+      // @ContentChildren('foo')
+      foos !: QueryList<ElementRef>;
+
+      static ngDirectiveDef = defineDirective({
+        type: SuperDirective,
+        selectors: [['', 'super-dir', '']],
+        factory: () => new SuperDirective(),
+        contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => { contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], true); },
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
+          let tmp: any;
+          const instance = load<SuperDirective>(dirIndex);
+          queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.foos = tmp);
+        }
+      });
+    }
+
+    class SubDirective extends SuperDirective {
+      // @ContentChildren('bar')
+      bars !: QueryList<ElementRef>;
+
+      static ngDirectiveDef = defineDirective({
+        type: SubDirective,
+        selectors: [['', 'sub-dir', '']],
+        factory: () => new SubDirective(),
+        contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => { contentQuery(dirIndex, ['bar'], true); },
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
+          let tmp: any;
+          dirInstance = load<SubDirective>(dirIndex);
+          queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (dirInstance.bars = tmp);
+        },
+        features: [InheritDefinitionFeature]
+      });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <div sub-dir>
+     *   <span #foo></span>
+     *   <span #bar></span>
+     * </div>
+     */
+    const AppComponent = createComponent('app-component', function(rf: RenderFlags, ctx: any) {
+      if (rf & RenderFlags.Create) {
+        elementStart(0, 'div', [AttributeMarker.SelectOnly, 'sub-dir']);
+        {
+          element(1, 'span', null, ['foo', '']);
+          element(3, 'span', null, ['bar', '']);
+        }
+        elementEnd();
+      }
+    }, 5, 0, [SubDirective]);
+
+    const fixture = new ComponentFixture(AppComponent);
+    expect(dirInstance !.foos.length).toBe(1);
+    expect(dirInstance !.bars.length).toBe(1);
   });
 
   it('should throw if inheriting a component from a directive', () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/test/render3/query_spec.ts b/packages/core/test/render3/query_spec.ts
index 3696efc476..ec16aca8ec 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/render3/query_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/render3/query_spec.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ import {EventEmitter} from '../..';
 import {AttributeMarker, ProvidersFeature, defineComponent, defineDirective, detectChanges} from '../../src/render3/index';
 import {getNativeByIndex} from '../../src/render3/util';
 
-import {bind, container, containerRefreshEnd, containerRefreshStart, directiveInject, element, elementContainerEnd, elementContainerStart, elementEnd, elementProperty, elementStart, embeddedViewEnd, embeddedViewStart, load, loadQueryList, reference, registerContentQuery, template, text} from '../../src/render3/instructions';
+import {bind, container, containerRefreshEnd, containerRefreshStart, directiveInject, element, elementContainerEnd, elementContainerStart, elementEnd, elementProperty, elementStart, embeddedViewEnd, embeddedViewStart, load, reference, template, text} from '../../src/render3/instructions';
 import {RenderFlags} from '../../src/render3/interfaces/definition';
-import {query, queryRefresh, viewQuery, loadViewQuery} from '../../src/render3/query';
+import {queryRefresh, viewQuery, loadViewQuery, contentQuery, loadContentQuery} from '../../src/render3/query';
 import {getLView} from '../../src/render3/state';
 import {templateRefExtractor} from '../../src/render3/view_engine_compatibility_prebound';
 
@@ -2282,12 +2282,11 @@ describe('query', () => {
         type: WithContentDirective,
         selectors: [['', 'with-content', '']],
         factory: () => new WithContentDirective(),
-        contentQueries: (dirIndex) => { registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], true), dirIndex); },
-        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+        contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => { contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], true); },
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
           let tmp: any;
           withContentInstance = load<WithContentDirective>(dirIndex);
-          queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-              (withContentInstance.foos = tmp);
+          queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (withContentInstance.foos = tmp);
         }
       });
     }
@@ -2303,12 +2302,11 @@ describe('query', () => {
         template: function(rf: RenderFlags, ctx: any) {},
         consts: 0,
         vars: 0,
-        contentQueries: (dirIndex) => { registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], false), dirIndex); },
-        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+        contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => { contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], false); },
+        contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
           let tmp: any;
           shallowCompInstance = load<ShallowComp>(dirIndex);
-          queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-              (shallowCompInstance.foos = tmp);
+          queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (shallowCompInstance.foos = tmp);
         }
       });
     }
@@ -2527,16 +2525,15 @@ describe('query', () => {
           selectors: [['', 'query', '']],
           exportAs: ['query'],
           factory: () => new QueryDirective(),
-          contentQueries: (dirIndex) => {
+          contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => {
             // @ContentChildren('foo, bar, baz', {descendants: true}) fooBars:
             // QueryList<ElementRef>;
-            registerContentQuery(query(['foo', 'bar', 'baz'], true), dirIndex);
+            contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo', 'bar', 'baz'], true);
           },
-          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
             let tmp: any;
             const instance = load<QueryDirective>(dirIndex);
-            queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-                (instance.fooBars = tmp);
+            queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.fooBars = tmp);
           },
         });
       }
@@ -2591,16 +2588,15 @@ describe('query', () => {
           selectors: [['', 'query', '']],
           exportAs: ['query'],
           factory: () => new QueryDirective(),
-          contentQueries: (dirIndex) => {
+          contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => {
             // @ContentChildren('foo, bar, baz', {descendants: true}) fooBars:
             // QueryList<ElementRef>;
-            registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], false), dirIndex);
+            contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], false);
           },
-          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
             let tmp: any;
             const instance = load<QueryDirective>(dirIndex);
-            queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-                (instance.fooBars = tmp);
+            queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.fooBars = tmp);
           },
         });
       }
@@ -2647,16 +2643,15 @@ describe('query', () => {
           selectors: [['', 'query', '']],
           exportAs: ['query'],
           factory: () => new QueryDirective(),
-          contentQueries: (dirIndex) => {
+          contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => {
             // @ContentChildren('foo', {descendants: true}) fooBars:
             // QueryList<ElementRef>;
-            registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], false), dirIndex);
+            contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], false);
           },
-          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+          contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
             let tmp: any;
             const instance = load<QueryDirective>(dirIndex);
-            queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-                (instance.fooBars = tmp);
+            queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.fooBars = tmp);
           },
         });
       }
@@ -2703,15 +2698,14 @@ describe('query', () => {
              selectors: [['', 'shallow-query', '']],
              exportAs: ['shallow-query'],
              factory: () => new ShallowQueryDirective(),
-             contentQueries: (dirIndex) => {
+             contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => {
                // @ContentChildren('foo', {descendants: false}) foos: QueryList<ElementRef>;
-               registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], false), dirIndex);
+               contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], false);
              },
-             contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+             contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
                let tmp: any;
                const instance = load<ShallowQueryDirective>(dirIndex);
-               queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-                   (instance.foos = tmp);
+               queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.foos = tmp);
              },
            });
          }
@@ -2723,15 +2717,14 @@ describe('query', () => {
              selectors: [['', 'deep-query', '']],
              exportAs: ['deep-query'],
              factory: () => new DeepQueryDirective(),
-             contentQueries: (dirIndex) => {
+             contentQueries: (dirIndex: number) => {
                // @ContentChildren('foo', {descendants: false}) foos: QueryList<ElementRef>;
-               registerContentQuery(query(['foo'], true), dirIndex);
+               contentQuery(dirIndex, ['foo'], true);
              },
-             contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number, queryStartIdx: number) => {
+             contentQueriesRefresh: (dirIndex: number) => {
                let tmp: any;
                const instance = load<DeepQueryDirective>(dirIndex);
-               queryRefresh(tmp = loadQueryList<ElementRef>(queryStartIdx)) &&
-                   (instance.foos = tmp);
+               queryRefresh(tmp = loadContentQuery<ElementRef>()) && (instance.foos = tmp);
              },
            });
          }