diff --git a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
index 3e2c7d463..255580f27 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/cloudstack/resource_cloudstack_instance.go
@@ -74,11 +74,19 @@ func resourceCloudStackInstance() *schema.Resource {
 			},
 
 			"affinity_group_ids": &schema.Schema{
-				Type:     schema.TypeSet,
-				Optional: true,
-				Computed: true,
-				Elem:     &schema.Schema{Type: schema.TypeString},
-				Set:      schema.HashString,
+				Type:          schema.TypeSet,
+				Optional:      true,
+				Elem:          &schema.Schema{Type: schema.TypeString},
+				Set:           schema.HashString,
+				ConflictsWith: []string{"affinity_group_names"},
+			},
+
+			"affinity_group_names": &schema.Schema{
+				Type:          schema.TypeSet,
+				Optional:      true,
+				Elem:          &schema.Schema{Type: schema.TypeString},
+				Set:           schema.HashString,
+				ConflictsWith: []string{"affinity_group_ids"},
 			},
 
 			"project": &schema.Schema{
@@ -221,6 +229,17 @@ func resourceCloudStackInstanceCreate(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{})
 		p.SetAffinitygroupids(groups)
 	}
 
+	// If there is a affinity_group_names supplied, add it to the parameter struct
+	if agns := d.Get("affinity_group_names").(*schema.Set); agns.Len() > 0 {
+		var groups []string
+
+		for _, group := range agns.List() {
+			groups = append(groups, group.(string))
+		}
+
+		p.SetAffinitygroupnames(groups)
+	}
+
 	// If there is a project supplied, we retrieve and set the project id
 	if err := setProjectid(p, cs, d); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -319,6 +338,15 @@ func resourceCloudStackInstanceRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) er
 		d.Set("affinity_group_ids", groups)
 	}
 
+	agns := &schema.Set{F: schema.HashString}
+	for _, group := range vm.Affinitygroup {
+		agns.Add(group.Name)
+	}
+
+	if agns.Len() > 0 {
+		d.Set("affinity_group_names", agns)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
index 9ed4a9db5..fbb22d0df 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/cloudstack/r/instance.html.markdown
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ The following arguments are supported:
     gigabytes. The root disk is resized on deploy. Only applies to
     template-based deployments.
 
+* `affinity_group_names` - (Optional) List of affinity groups to apply to this
+    instance. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
+
 ## Attributes Reference
 
 The following attributes are exported: