diff --git a/NOTICES.txt b/NOTICES.txt
index a0cf999a8..e02cc4836 100644
--- a/NOTICES.txt
+++ b/NOTICES.txt
@@ -146,3 +146,9 @@ golang.org/go
 https://github.com/golang/go
 License: BSD 3-clause (https://github.com/golang/go/LICENSE)
 Copyright (c) 2009 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+
+
+github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid
+https://github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid.git
+License: BSD 3-clause (https://github.com/google/uuid/LICENSE)
+Copyright © 2014, Roger Peppe All rights reserved.
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 5050239f6..e75c026ea 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ type Proxy struct {
 	TLSHeader             string
 	TLSHeaderValue        string
 	GZIPContentTypes      *regexp.Regexp
+	RequestID             string
 }
 
 type Runtime struct {
diff --git a/config/load.go b/config/load.go
index d1e696ce8..6cb4a4ed2 100644
--- a/config/load.go
+++ b/config/load.go
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ func load(cmdline, environ, envprefix []string, props *properties.Properties) (c
 	f.StringVar(&cfg.Proxy.ClientIPHeader, "proxy.header.clientip", defaultConfig.Proxy.ClientIPHeader, "header for the request ip")
 	f.StringVar(&cfg.Proxy.TLSHeader, "proxy.header.tls", defaultConfig.Proxy.TLSHeader, "header for TLS connections")
 	f.StringVar(&cfg.Proxy.TLSHeaderValue, "proxy.header.tls.value", defaultConfig.Proxy.TLSHeaderValue, "value for TLS connection header")
+	f.StringVar(&cfg.Proxy.RequestID, "proxy.header.requestid", defaultConfig.Proxy.RequestID, "header for reqest id")
 	f.StringVar(&gzipContentTypesValue, "proxy.gzip.contenttype", defaultValues.GZIPContentTypesValue, "regexp of content types to compress")
 	f.StringSliceVar(&listenerValue, "proxy.addr", defaultValues.ListenerValue, "listener config")
 	f.KVSliceVar(&certSourcesValue, "proxy.cs", defaultValues.CertSourcesValue, "certificate sources")
diff --git a/config/load_test.go b/config/load_test.go
index af70f30d5..53d246242 100644
--- a/config/load_test.go
+++ b/config/load_test.go
@@ -302,6 +302,13 @@ func TestLoad(t *testing.T) {
 				return cfg
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			args: []string{"-proxy.header.requestid", "value"},
+			cfg: func(cfg *Config) *Config {
+				cfg.Proxy.RequestID = "value"
+				return cfg
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			args: []string{"-proxy.gzip.contenttype", `^text/.*$`},
 			cfg: func(cfg *Config) *Config {
diff --git a/fabio.properties b/fabio.properties
index e35f74282..4bbf269d4 100644
--- a/fabio.properties
+++ b/fabio.properties
@@ -353,6 +353,15 @@
 # proxy.header.tls.value =
 
 
+# proxy.header.requestid configures the header for the adding a unique request id.
+# When set non-empty value the proxy will set this header on every request to the
+# unique UUID value.
+#
+# The default is
+#
+# proxy.header.requestid =
+
+
 # proxy.gzip.contenttype configures which responses should be compressed.
 #
 # By default, responses sent to the client are not compressed even if the
diff --git a/proxy/http_integration_test.go b/proxy/http_integration_test.go
index 22741c5a4..8a629cdbf 100644
--- a/proxy/http_integration_test.go
+++ b/proxy/http_integration_test.go
@@ -50,6 +50,31 @@ func TestProxyProducesCorrectXffHeader(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestProxyRequestIDHeader(t *testing.T) {
+	got := "not called"
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		got = r.Header.Get("X-Request-ID")
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	proxy := httptest.NewServer(&HTTPProxy{
+		Config:    config.Proxy{RequestID: "X-Request-Id"},
+		Transport: http.DefaultTransport,
+		UUID:      func() string { return "f47ac10b-58cc-0372-8567-0e02b2c3d479" },
+		Lookup: func(r *http.Request) *route.Target {
+			return &route.Target{URL: mustParse(server.URL)}
+		},
+	})
+	defer proxy.Close()
+
+	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", proxy.URL, nil)
+	mustDo(req)
+
+	if want := "f47ac10b-58cc-0372-8567-0e02b2c3d479"; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("got %v, but want %v", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestProxyNoRouteStaus(t *testing.T) {
 	proxy := httptest.NewServer(&HTTPProxy{
 		Config:    config.Proxy{NoRouteStatus: 999},
diff --git a/proxy/http_proxy.go b/proxy/http_proxy.go
index 7e84254c7..239c491e6 100644
--- a/proxy/http_proxy.go
+++ b/proxy/http_proxy.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/fabiolb/fabio/metrics"
 	"github.com/fabiolb/fabio/proxy/gzip"
 	"github.com/fabiolb/fabio/route"
+	"github.com/fabiolb/fabio/uuid"
 )
 
 // HTTPProxy is a dynamic reverse proxy for HTTP and HTTPS protocols.
@@ -48,6 +49,10 @@ type HTTPProxy struct {
 
 	// Logger is the access logger for the requests.
 	Logger logger.Logger
+
+	// UUID returns a unique id in uuid format.
+	// If UUID is nil, uuid.NewUUID() is used.
+	UUID func() string
 }
 
 func (p *HTTPProxy) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
@@ -66,6 +71,16 @@ func (p *HTTPProxy) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	if p.Config.RequestID != "" {
+		var id string
+		if p.UUID == nil {
+			id = uuid.NewUUID()
+		} else {
+			id = p.UUID()
+		}
+		r.Header.Set(p.Config.RequestID, id)
+	}
+
 	// build the request url since r.URL will get modified
 	// by the reverse proxy and contains only the RequestURI anyway
 	requestURL := &url.URL{
diff --git a/uuid/format.go b/uuid/format.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..542424139
--- /dev/null
+++ b/uuid/format.go
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+package uuid
+
+// Fast UUID formatting adapted from
+// https://github.com/m4rw3r/uuid/blob/master/uuid.go
+
+// hexchar2byte contains the integer byte-value represented by a hexadecimal character,
+// 255 if it is an invalid character.
+var hexchar2byte = []byte{
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+	255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
+}
+
+// halfbyte2hexchar contains an array of character values corresponding to
+// hexadecimal values for the position in the array, 0 to 15 (0x0-0xf, half-byte).
+var halfbyte2hexchar = []byte{
+	48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102,
+}
+
+// ToString formats raw UUID bytes as a standard UUID string
+func ToString(u [24]byte) string {
+	/* It is a lot (~10x) faster to allocate a byte slice of specific size and
+	   then use a lookup table to write the characters to the byte-array and
+	   finally cast to string instead of using fmt.Sprintf() */
+	/* Slightly faster to not use make([]byte, 36), guessing either call
+	   overhead or slice-header overhead is the cause */
+	b := [36]byte{}
+
+	for i, n := range []int{
+		0, 2, 4, 6,
+		9, 11,
+		14, 16,
+		19, 21,
+		24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34,
+	} {
+		b[n] = halfbyte2hexchar[(u[i]>>4)&0x0f]
+		b[n+1] = halfbyte2hexchar[u[i]&0x0f]
+	}
+
+	b[8] = '-'
+	b[13] = '-'
+	b[18] = '-'
+	b[23] = '-'
+
+	/* Oddly does not seem to cause a memory allocation,
+	   internal data-array is most likely just moved over
+	   to the string-header: */
+	return string(b[:])
+}
diff --git a/uuid/uuid.go b/uuid/uuid.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..68dcb1308
--- /dev/null
+++ b/uuid/uuid.go
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package uuid
+
+import (
+	"github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid"
+)
+
+var generator = fastuuid.MustNewGenerator()
+
+// NewUUID return UUID in string fromat
+func NewUUID() string {
+	return ToString(generator.Next())
+}
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/LICENSE b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9525fc825
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+Copyright © 2014, Roger Peppe
+All rights reserved.
+
+Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification,
+are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
+
+    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
+      this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
+      this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
+      and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
+    * Neither the name of this project nor the names of its contributors
+      may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
+      without specific prior written permission.
+
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
+TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
+PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
+NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
+SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/README.md b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6e8f134ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# fastuuid
+--
+    import "github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid"
+
+Package fastuuid provides fast UUID generation of 192 bit universally unique
+identifiers. It does not provide formatting or parsing of the identifiers (it is
+assumed that a simple hexadecimal or base64 representation is sufficient, for
+which adequate functionality exists elsewhere).
+
+Note that the generated UUIDs are not unguessable - each UUID generated from a
+Generator is adjacent to the previously generated UUID.
+
+It ignores RFC 4122.
+
+## Usage
+
+#### type Generator
+
+```go
+type Generator struct {
+}
+```
+
+Generator represents a UUID generator that generates UUIDs in sequence from a
+random starting point.
+
+#### func  MustNewGenerator
+
+```go
+func MustNewGenerator() *Generator
+```
+MustNewGenerator is like NewGenerator but panics on failure.
+
+#### func  NewGenerator
+
+```go
+func NewGenerator() (*Generator, error)
+```
+NewGenerator returns a new Generator. It can fail if the crypto/rand read fails.
+
+#### func (*Generator) Next
+
+```go
+func (g *Generator) Next() [24]byte
+```
+Next returns the next UUID from the generator. Only the first 8 bytes can differ
+from the previous UUID, so taking a slice of the first 16 bytes is sufficient to
+provide a somewhat less secure 128 bit UUID.
+
+It is OK to call this method concurrently.
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/uuid.go b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/uuid.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c7cf6b2e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vendor/github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid/uuid.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+// Package fastuuid provides fast UUID generation of 192 bit
+// universally unique identifiers. It does not provide
+// formatting or parsing of the identifiers (it is assumed
+// that a simple hexadecimal or base64 representation
+// is sufficient, for which adequate functionality exists elsewhere).
+//
+// Note that the generated UUIDs are not unguessable - each
+// UUID generated from a Generator is adjacent to the
+// previously generated UUID.
+//
+// It ignores RFC 4122.
+package fastuuid
+
+import (
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"errors"
+	"sync/atomic"
+)
+
+// Generator represents a UUID generator that
+// generates UUIDs in sequence from a random starting
+// point.
+type Generator struct {
+	seed    [24]byte
+	counter uint64
+}
+
+// NewGenerator returns a new Generator.
+// It can fail if the crypto/rand read fails.
+func NewGenerator() (*Generator, error) {
+	var g Generator
+	_, err := rand.Read(g.seed[:])
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.New("cannot generate random seed: " + err.Error())
+	}
+	return &g, nil
+}
+
+// MustNewGenerator is like NewGenerator
+// but panics on failure.
+func MustNewGenerator() *Generator {
+	g, err := NewGenerator()
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	return g
+}
+
+// Next returns the next UUID from the generator.
+// Only the first 8 bytes can differ from the previous
+// UUID, so taking a slice of the first 16 bytes
+// is sufficient to provide a somewhat less secure 128 bit UUID.
+//
+// It is OK to call this method concurrently.
+func (g *Generator) Next() [24]byte {
+	x := atomic.AddUint64(&g.counter, 1)
+	var counterBytes [8]byte
+	binary.LittleEndian.PutUint64(counterBytes[:], x)
+
+	uuid := g.seed
+	for i, b := range counterBytes {
+		uuid[i] ^= b
+	}
+	return uuid
+}
diff --git a/vendor/vendor.json b/vendor/vendor.json
index 431b188cf..84771ee74 100644
--- a/vendor/vendor.json
+++ b/vendor/vendor.json
@@ -188,6 +188,12 @@
 			"revision": "3e5e593311103d49927c8d2b0fd93ccdfe4a525c",
 			"revisionTime": "2015-07-19T09:56:14-07:00"
 		},
+		{
+			"checksumSHA1": "ehRkDJisGCCSYdNgyvs1gSywSPE=",
+			"path": "github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid",
+			"revision": "6724a57986aff9bff1a1770e9347036def7c89f6",
+			"revisionTime": "2015-01-06T09:31:45Z"
+		},
 		{
 			"checksumSHA1": "EYkx4sXDLSEd1xUtGoXRsfd5cpw=",
 			"path": "github.com/ryanuber/go-glob",