diff --git a/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.cc b/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.cc
index 90200086b6597..ff619417e9a63 100644
--- a/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.cc
@@ -133,11 +133,24 @@ std::shared_ptr<RowGroupReader> ParquetFileReader::RowGroup(int i) {
 // the fixed initial size is just for an example
 #define COL_WIDTH "20"
 
-void ParquetFileReader::DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, bool print_values) {
+void ParquetFileReader::DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream,
+    std::list<int> selected_columns, bool print_values) {
   stream << "File statistics:\n";
-  stream << "Total rows: " << this->num_rows() << "\n";
+  stream << "Total rows: " << num_rows() << "\n";
 
-  for (int i = 0; i < num_columns(); ++i) {
+  if (selected_columns.size() == 0) {
+    for (int i = 0; i < num_columns(); i++) {
+      selected_columns.push_back(i);
+    }
+  } else {
+    for (auto i : selected_columns) {
+      if (i < 0 || i >= num_columns()) {
+        throw ParquetException("Selected column is out of range");
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (auto i : selected_columns) {
     const ColumnDescriptor* descr = schema_->Column(i);
     stream << "Column " << i << ": "
            << descr->name()
@@ -152,9 +165,7 @@ void ParquetFileReader::DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, bool print_values) {
     auto group_reader = RowGroup(r);
 
     // Print column metadata
-    int num_columns = group_reader->num_columns();
-
-    for (int i = 0; i < num_columns; ++i) {
+    for (auto i : selected_columns) {
       RowGroupStatistics stats = group_reader->GetColumnStats(i);
 
       stream << "Column " << i << ": "
@@ -174,9 +185,10 @@ void ParquetFileReader::DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, bool print_values) {
     static constexpr int bufsize = 25;
     char buffer[bufsize];
 
-    // Create readers for all columns and print contents
-    vector<std::shared_ptr<Scanner> > scanners(num_columns, NULL);
-    for (int i = 0; i < num_columns; ++i) {
+    // Create readers for selected columns and print contents
+    vector<std::shared_ptr<Scanner> > scanners(selected_columns.size(), NULL);
+    int j = 0;
+    for (auto i : selected_columns) {
       std::shared_ptr<ColumnReader> col_reader = group_reader->Column(i);
 
       std::stringstream ss;
@@ -188,17 +200,17 @@ void ParquetFileReader::DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, bool print_values) {
 
       // This is OK in this method as long as the RowGroupReader does not get
       // deleted
-      scanners[i] = Scanner::Make(col_reader);
+      scanners[j++] = Scanner::Make(col_reader);
     }
     stream << "\n";
 
     bool hasRow;
     do {
       hasRow = false;
-      for (int i = 0; i < num_columns; ++i) {
-        if (scanners[i]->HasNext()) {
+      for (auto scanner : scanners) {
+        if (scanner->HasNext()) {
           hasRow = true;
-          scanners[i]->PrintNext(stream, 17);
+          scanner->PrintNext(stream, 17);
         }
       }
       stream << "\n";
diff --git a/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.h b/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.h
index f4455ac2a179f..3a54cfb996513 100644
--- a/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.h
+++ b/cpp/src/parquet/file/reader.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <iosfwd>
 #include <memory>
+#include <list>
 #include <string>
 
 #include "parquet/column/page.h"
@@ -119,7 +120,8 @@ class ParquetFileReader {
     return schema_->Column(i);
   }
 
-  void DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, bool print_values = true);
+  void DebugPrint(std::ostream& stream, std::list<int> selected_columns,
+      bool print_values = true);
 
  private:
   // PIMPL idiom
diff --git a/cpp/src/parquet/reader-test.cc b/cpp/src/parquet/reader-test.cc
index 10bcff7a7cf75..034d4e2cf7f55 100644
--- a/cpp/src/parquet/reader-test.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/parquet/reader-test.cc
@@ -124,13 +124,38 @@ TEST_F(TestAllTypesPlain, TestSetScannerBatchSize) {
 TEST_F(TestAllTypesPlain, DebugPrintWorks) {
   std::stringstream ss;
 
-  // Automatically parses metadata
-  reader_->DebugPrint(ss);
+  std::list<int> columns;
+  reader_->DebugPrint(ss, columns);
 
   std::string result = ss.str();
   ASSERT_GT(result.size(), 0);
 }
 
+TEST_F(TestAllTypesPlain, ColumnSelection) {
+  std::stringstream ss;
+
+  std::list<int> columns;
+  columns.push_back(5);
+  columns.push_back(0);
+  columns.push_back(10);
+  reader_->DebugPrint(ss, columns);
+
+  std::string result = ss.str();
+  ASSERT_GT(result.size(), 0);
+}
+
+TEST_F(TestAllTypesPlain, ColumnSelectionOutOfRange) {
+  std::stringstream ss;
+
+  std::list<int> columns;
+  columns.push_back(100);
+  ASSERT_THROW(reader_->DebugPrint(ss, columns), ParquetException);
+
+  columns.clear();
+  columns.push_back(-1);
+  ASSERT_THROW(reader_->DebugPrint(ss, columns), ParquetException);
+}
+
 
 class TestLocalFileSource : public ::testing::Test {
  public: