diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e8d0d486..4c575d94 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
 # MobX-React Changelog
+
+### 5.4.1
+
+* Fixed issue where `react-is` wasn't properly rolled-up into the package. Fixes [#608](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react/issues/608)
+
+### 5.4.0
+
+* Added support for forward refs, fixes [#602](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react/issues/602)
+
 ### 5.3.6
 
 * Fixed some additional issues around life-cycle patching, take 3. See [#536](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react/pull/586) by [@xaviergonz](https://github.com/xaviergonz). Fixed [#579](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react/issues/579)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d022d815..3bd8091a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ import { observer } from "mobx-react/custom"
 This package provides the bindings for MobX and React.
 See the [official documentation](http://mobxjs.github.io/mobx/intro/overview.html) for how to get started.
 
+If you are using [React hooks](https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-intro.html) with latest React 16.7 and you like living on the bleeding edge then have a look at the new [mobx-react-lite](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react-lite).
+
 ## Boilerplate projects that use mobx-react
 
 *   Minimal MobX, React, ES6, JSX, Hot reloading: [MobX-React-Boilerplate](https://github.com/mobxjs/mobx-react-boilerplate)
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d2bd797d..59949329 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "mobx-react",
-  "version": "5.3.6",
+  "version": "5.4.2",
   "description": "React bindings for MobX. Create fully reactive components.",
   "main": "index.js",
   "jsnext:main": "index.module.js",
diff --git a/src/observer.js b/src/observer.js
index 6e7f8f11..43810aa5 100644
--- a/src/observer.js
+++ b/src/observer.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-import React, { Component, PureComponent } from "react"
+import React, { Component, PureComponent, forwardRef } from "react"
 import hoistStatics from "hoist-non-react-statics"
 import { createAtom, Reaction, _allowStateChanges, $mobx } from "mobx"
 import { findDOMNode as baseFindDOMNode } from "react-dom"
+
 import EventEmitter from "./utils/EventEmitter"
 import inject from "./inject"
 import { patch as newPatch, newSymbol } from "./utils/utils"
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ export const renderReporter = new EventEmitter()
 const skipRenderKey = newSymbol("skipRender")
 const isForcingUpdateKey = newSymbol("isForcingUpdate")
 
+// Using react-is had some issues (and operates on elements, not on types), see #608 / #609
+const ReactForwardRefSymbol =
+    typeof forwardRef === "function" && forwardRef((_props, _ref) => {})["$$typeof"]
+
 /**
  * Helper to set `prop` to `this` as non-enumerable (hidden prop)
  * @param target
@@ -318,6 +323,19 @@ export function observer(arg1, arg2) {
         )
     }
 
+    // Unwrap forward refs into `<Observer>` component
+    // we need to unwrap the render, because it is the inner render that needs to be tracked,
+    // not the ForwardRef HoC
+    if (ReactForwardRefSymbol && componentClass["$$typeof"] === ReactForwardRefSymbol) {
+        const baseRender = componentClass.render
+        if (typeof baseRender !== "function")
+            throw new Error("render property of ForwardRef was not a function")
+        // TODO: do we need to hoist statics from baseRender to the forward ref?
+        return forwardRef(function ObserverForwardRef() {
+            return <Observer>{() => baseRender.apply(undefined, arguments)}</Observer>
+        })
+    }
+
     // Stateless function component:
     // If it is function but doesn't seem to be a react class constructor,
     // wrap it to a react class automatically
diff --git a/test/__snapshots__/stateless.test.js.snap b/test/__snapshots__/stateless.test.js.snap
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..191b828a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/__snapshots__/stateless.test.js.snap
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+// Jest Snapshot v1, https://goo.gl/fbAQLP
+
+exports[`stateless component with forwardRef is reactive 1`] = `
+<div>
+  result: 
+  hello world
+  , 
+  got ref
+  , a.x: 
+  2
+</div>
+`;
+
+exports[`stateless component with forwardRef render test correct 1`] = `
+<div>
+  result: 
+  hello world
+  , 
+  got ref
+  , a.x: 
+  1
+</div>
+`;
diff --git a/test/stateless.test.js b/test/stateless.test.js
index 94c49a1b..f56d4c86 100644
--- a/test/stateless.test.js
+++ b/test/stateless.test.js
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import TestUtils from "react-dom/test-utils"
 import * as mobx from "mobx"
 import { observer, propTypes } from "../src"
 import { createTestRoot } from "./index"
+import renderer from "react-test-renderer"
+import { observable } from "mobx"
 
 const testRoot = createTestRoot()
 
@@ -74,3 +76,33 @@ test("component with observable propTypes", () => {
     expect(warnings.length).toBe(1)
     console.error = originalConsoleError
 })
+
+describe("stateless component with forwardRef", () => {
+    const a = observable({
+        x: 1
+    })
+    const ForwardRefCompObserver = observer(
+        React.forwardRef(({ testProp }, ref) => {
+            return (
+                <div>
+                    result: {testProp}, {ref ? "got ref" : "no ref"}, a.x: {a.x}
+                </div>
+            )
+        })
+    )
+
+    test("render test correct", () => {
+        const component = renderer.create(
+            <ForwardRefCompObserver testProp="hello world" ref={React.createRef()} />
+        )
+        expect(component).toMatchSnapshot()
+    })
+
+    test("is reactive", () => {
+        const component = renderer.create(
+            <ForwardRefCompObserver testProp="hello world" ref={React.createRef()} />
+        )
+        a.x++
+        expect(component).toMatchSnapshot()
+    })
+})