diff --git a/flax/nnx/deprecations.py b/flax/nnx/deprecations.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee7c37e37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flax/nnx/deprecations.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Copyright 2024 The Flax Authors.
+#
+# 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.
+
+import functools
+import warnings
+from typing import TypeVar
+from collections.abc import Callable
+
+F = TypeVar('F', bound=Callable)
+
+
+def deprecated(new_fn: F) -> F:
+  """Creates a deprecated alias for a renamed function.
+
+  .. deprecated::
+     This decorator is for marking functions as deprecated. The returned
+     wrapper emits a :class:`DeprecationWarning` on every call and then
+     delegates to ``new_fn``.
+
+  The returned callable copies the signature, type annotations, and
+  docstring of ``new_fn``, with a deprecation notice prepended to the
+  docstring. This keeps IDE autocomplete and type-checking working while
+  clearly communicating that callers should migrate.
+
+  Args:
+    new_fn: The current, non-deprecated function to delegate to.
+
+  Returns:
+    A wrapper that emits a :class:`DeprecationWarning` and then calls
+    ``new_fn`` with the same arguments.
+
+  Example::
+
+    >>> from flax.nnx.deprecations import deprecated
+    >>> def new_api(x):
+    ...   return x * 2
+    >>> old_api = deprecated(new_api)
+
+  """
+
+  @functools.wraps(new_fn)
+  def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+    warnings.warn(
+      f'This function is deprecated. Use {new_fn.__qualname__} instead.',
+      DeprecationWarning,
+      stacklevel=2,
+    )
+    return new_fn(*args, **kwargs)
+
+  dep_notice = (
+    f'.. deprecated::\n'
+    f'   Use :func:`{new_fn.__qualname__}` instead.\n\n'
+  )
+  wrapper.__doc__ = dep_notice + (new_fn.__doc__ or '')
+
+  return wrapper  # type: ignore[return-value]