diff --git a/framework-t/api/system-current.txt b/framework-t/api/system-current.txt
index f6b5657dd9..06d3238f1b 100644
--- a/framework-t/api/system-current.txt
+++ b/framework-t/api/system-current.txt
@@ -417,12 +417,12 @@ package android.net.nsd {
 
 package android.net.thread {
 
-  public class ThreadNetworkController {
+  @FlaggedApi("com.android.net.thread.flags.thread_enabled") public class ThreadNetworkController {
     method public int getThreadVersion();
     field public static final int THREAD_VERSION_1_3 = 4; // 0x4
   }
 
-  public class ThreadNetworkManager {
+  @FlaggedApi("com.android.net.thread.flags.thread_enabled") public class ThreadNetworkManager {
     method @NonNull public java.util.List<android.net.thread.ThreadNetworkController> getAllThreadNetworkControllers();
   }
 
diff --git a/thread/flags/thread_base.aconfig b/thread/flags/thread_base.aconfig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bf1f2881a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thread/flags/thread_base.aconfig
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+package: "com.android.net.thread.flags"
+
+flag {
+    name: "thread_enabled"
+    namespace: "thread_network"
+    description: "Controls whether the Android Thread feature is enabled"
+    bug: "301473012"
+}
diff --git a/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkController.java b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkController.java
index fe189c2621..9db81327be 100644
--- a/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkController.java
+++ b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkController.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package android.net.thread;
 
 import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
 
+import android.annotation.FlaggedApi;
 import android.annotation.IntDef;
 import android.annotation.NonNull;
 import android.annotation.SystemApi;
@@ -30,7 +31,8 @@ import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
  * Provides the primary API for controlling all aspects of a Thread network.
  *
  * @hide
- */
+*/
+@FlaggedApi(ThreadNetworkFlags.FLAG_THREAD_ENABLED)
 @SystemApi
 public class ThreadNetworkController {
 
diff --git a/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkFlags.java b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkFlags.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e6ab9881b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkFlags.java
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2023 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed 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.
+ */
+
+package android.net.thread;
+
+/**
+ * Container for flag constants defined in the "thread_network" namespace.
+ *
+ * @hide
+ */
+// TODO: replace this class with auto-generated "com.android.net.thread.flags.Flags" once the
+// flagging infra is fully supported for mainline modules.
+public final class ThreadNetworkFlags {
+    /** @hide */
+    public static final String FLAG_THREAD_ENABLED = "com.android.net.thread.flags.thread_enabled";
+
+    private ThreadNetworkFlags() {}
+}
diff --git a/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkManager.java b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkManager.java
index 2a253a17da..3e8288c69e 100644
--- a/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkManager.java
+++ b/thread/framework/java/android/net/thread/ThreadNetworkManager.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package android.net.thread;
 
 import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
 
+import android.annotation.FlaggedApi;
 import android.annotation.NonNull;
 import android.annotation.SystemApi;
 import android.annotation.SystemService;
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ import java.util.List;
  *
  * @hide
  */
+@FlaggedApi(ThreadNetworkFlags.FLAG_THREAD_ENABLED)
 @SystemApi
 @SystemService(ThreadNetworkManager.SERVICE_NAME)
 public class ThreadNetworkManager {