diff --git a/memfs/memory.go b/memfs/memory.go
index 2641238..c008702 100644
--- a/memfs/memory.go
+++ b/memfs/memory.go
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ func (fs *Memory) OpenFile(filename string, flag int, perm os.FileMode) (billy.F
 		}
 
 		if target, isLink := fs.resolveLink(filename, f); isLink {
+			if target == filename {
+				return nil, os.ErrNotExist
+			}
 			return fs.OpenFile(target, flag, perm)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/memfs/memory_test.go b/memfs/memory_test.go
index 030c58a..043a9fb 100644
--- a/memfs/memory_test.go
+++ b/memfs/memory_test.go
@@ -121,3 +121,9 @@ func (s *MemorySuite) TestTruncateAppend(c *C) {
 	c.Assert(err, IsNil)
 	c.Assert(string(data), Equals, "replace")
 }
+
+func (s *MemorySuite) TestSymlink(c *C) {
+	s.FS.Symlink("test", "test")
+	_, err := s.FS.Open("test")
+	c.Assert(err, NotNil)
+}