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This paper reports on the development of an academic reading course specifically designed for the students majoring in English Language and Literature. In order to investigate the particular needs and challenges in academic reading among English majors, the study developed a survey questionnaire, which was completed by a total of 117 students who were taking five different courses offered at the department of English Language and Literature at a university at the time of inquiry. The study was also paralleled with an instructional seminar among the faculty members, contributing to the what and how about the new academic reading course in the question. The findings are as follows: More than half of the students were aware that the academic English texts in core courses for English majors differ from other English texts for general purposes in terms of vocabulary, contents and background information, which might cause the processing difficulties in the reading comprehension task of English textbooks and references for English majors. Many students expressed positive opinions about the offering of a reading course in academic English to surmount the linguistic and cognitive difficulties specifically targeted towards English majors. The students' responses varied depending upon the individual factors: The lower the students' perceived levels of language proficiency, the higher the perceived difficulty of the academic English text for English majors, the stronger their needs in the training of an academic reading course in order for deeper understanding of English texts for English majors. To develop and successfully implement an EAP reading course for English majors, preliminary analyses on the linguistic and cognitive features across different courses and sub-areas of major studies should be conducted. What is more, the stepwise procedures of materials development, evaluation and subsequent modifications of the course calls for the on-going feedback through reanalysis of target students' needs as well as the collaboration among the faculty members and researchers.