diff --git a/src/wasmedge/wasmedge.cc b/src/wasmedge/wasmedge.cc
index 9815bcc49..38d68b009 100644
--- a/src/wasmedge/wasmedge.cc
+++ b/src/wasmedge/wasmedge.cc
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ bool WasmEdge::link(std::string_view /*debug_name*/) {
     res = WasmEdge_ExecutorRegisterImport(executor_.get(), store_.get(), it.second->cxt_);
     if (!WasmEdge_ResultOK(res)) {
       fail(FailState::UnableToInitializeCode,
-           std::string("Failed to link Wasm module due to import: ") + it.first);
+           std::string("Failed to load Wasm module due to import: ") + it.first);
       return false;
     }
   }
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ bool WasmEdge::link(std::string_view /*debug_name*/) {
   res = WasmEdge_ExecutorInstantiate(executor_.get(), &mod, store_.get(), ast_module_.get());
   if (!WasmEdge_ResultOK(res)) {
     fail(FailState::UnableToInitializeCode,
-         std::string("Failed to link Wasm module: ") + std::string(WasmEdge_ResultGetMessage(res)));
+         std::string("Failed to load Wasm module: ") + std::string(WasmEdge_ResultGetMessage(res)));
     return false;
   }
   // Get the function and memory exports.
diff --git a/src/wasmtime/wasmtime.cc b/src/wasmtime/wasmtime.cc
index 981785852..973e094a0 100644
--- a/src/wasmtime/wasmtime.cc
+++ b/src/wasmtime/wasmtime.cc
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ bool Wasmtime::link(std::string_view /*debug_name*/) {
   TrapResult<Instance> instance = linker_.instantiate(store_->context(), *module_);
   if (!instance) {
     fail(FailState::UnableToInitializeCode,
-         "Failed to create new Wasm instance: " + instance.err().message());
+         "Failed to load Wasm module: " + instance.err().message());
     return false;
   }
   instance_.emplace(instance.ok());
diff --git a/test/BUILD b/test/BUILD
index 1b45b1318..e2442cf74 100644
--- a/test/BUILD
+++ b/test/BUILD
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ cc_test(
     data = [
         "//test/test_data:callback.wasm",
         "//test/test_data:clock.wasm",
+        "//test/test_data:invalid_import_type.wasm",
         "//test/test_data:resource_limits.wasm",
         "//test/test_data:trap.wasm",
     ],
diff --git a/test/runtime_test.cc b/test/runtime_test.cc
index b9304aaaf..f3968f5ed 100644
--- a/test/runtime_test.cc
+++ b/test/runtime_test.cc
@@ -190,6 +190,22 @@ TEST_P(TestVm, Trap2) {
   }
 }
 
+TEST_P(TestVm, ImportWithMismatchingTypeFailsLink) {
+  auto source = readTestWasmFile("invalid_import_type.wasm");
+  ASSERT_FALSE(source.empty());
+  auto wasm = TestWasm(std::move(vm_));
+  auto *host = dynamic_cast<TestIntegration *>(wasm.wasm_vm()->integration().get());
+
+  ASSERT_TRUE(wasm.load(source, false));
+  ASSERT_FALSE(wasm.initialize());
+
+  EXPECT_TRUE(host->isErrorLogged("Failed to load Wasm module"));
+  // TODO: WasmEdge logs the failing import to stderr, but not to the Proxy-Wasm integration logger.
+  if (engine_ != "wasmedge") {
+    EXPECT_TRUE(host->isErrorLogged("proxy_log"));
+  }
+}
+
 class TestCounterContext : public TestContext {
 public:
   TestCounterContext(WasmBase *wasm) : TestContext(wasm) {}
diff --git a/test/test_data/BUILD b/test/test_data/BUILD
index 28f723c34..51455aae4 100644
--- a/test/test_data/BUILD
+++ b/test/test_data/BUILD
@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ wasm_rust_binary(
     srcs = ["bad_malloc.rs"],
 )
 
+wasm_rust_binary(
+    name = "invalid_import_type.wasm",
+    srcs = ["invalid_import_type.rs"],
+)
+
 wasm_rust_binary(
     name = "callback.wasm",
     srcs = ["callback.rs"],
diff --git a/test/test_data/invalid_import_type.rs b/test/test_data/invalid_import_type.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9684c38f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_data/invalid_import_type.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+//
+// 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.
+
+extern "C" {
+    // Wrong type!
+    fn proxy_log(level: u32, message_data: *const u8) -> u32;
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn proxy_abi_version_0_2_0() {}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn proxy_on_memory_allocate(size: usize) -> *mut u8 {
+    unsafe {
+        proxy_log(0, "my_message".as_ptr());
+    }
+    std::ptr::null_mut()
+}