diff --git a/src/material/chips/chip-grid.ts b/src/material/chips/chip-grid.ts
index 01dfc3f1d2bb..a56f7792f91c 100644
--- a/src/material/chips/chip-grid.ts
+++ b/src/material/chips/chip-grid.ts
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ const _MatChipGridMixinBase = mixinErrorState(MatChipGridBase);
     '[class.mat-mdc-chip-list-disabled]': 'disabled',
     '[class.mat-mdc-chip-list-invalid]': 'errorState',
     '[class.mat-mdc-chip-list-required]': 'required',
+    '[class.mat-mdc-chip-list-placeholder]': '_chips && _chips.length',
     '(focus)': 'focus()',
     '(blur)': '_blur()',
   },
diff --git a/src/material/chips/chip-set.scss b/src/material/chips/chip-set.scss
index 3ff0bb4d8a37..8dd660059cd3 100644
--- a/src/material/chips/chip-set.scss
+++ b/src/material/chips/chip-set.scss
@@ -39,3 +39,13 @@ input.mat-mdc-chip-input {
     margin-right: 8px;
   }
 }
+
+// This ensures that if we have any sort of data in our chips, we apply
+// a class & set placeholder to be visible so it doesn't show only when
+// form field is focused.
+.mat-mdc-chip-list-placeholder {
+  // stylelint-disable-next-line material/no-prefixes
+  .mat-mdc-chip-input::placeholder {
+    opacity: 1;
+  }
+}