diff --git a/rest_framework/authentication.py b/rest_framework/authentication.py
index f0702286c..8b5c20090 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authentication.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authentication.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from django.middleware.csrf import CsrfViewMiddleware
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from rest_framework import exceptions, HTTP_HEADER_ENCODING
 from rest_framework.authtoken.models import Token
+from rest_framework.compat import get_user_model
 
 
 def get_authorization_header(request):
@@ -85,7 +86,12 @@ class BasicAuthentication(BaseAuthentication):
         """
         Authenticate the userid and password against username and password.
         """
-        user = authenticate(username=userid, password=password)
+        username_field = getattr(get_user_model(), 'USERNAME_FIELD', 'username')
+        credentials = {
+            username_field: userid,
+            'password': password
+        }
+        user = authenticate(**credentials)
 
         if user is None:
             raise exceptions.AuthenticationFailed(_('Invalid username/password.'))
diff --git a/rest_framework/compat.py b/rest_framework/compat.py
index c6a4a8698..1ba907314 100644
--- a/rest_framework/compat.py
+++ b/rest_framework/compat.py
@@ -119,6 +119,14 @@ def get_model_name(model_cls):
         return model_cls._meta.module_name
 
 
+# Support custom user models in Django 1.5+
+try:
+    from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
+except ImportError:
+    from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+    get_user_model = lambda: User
+
+
 # View._allowed_methods only present from 1.5 onwards
 if django.VERSION >= (1, 5):
     from django.views.generic import View