diff --git a/docs/api-guide/serializers.md b/docs/api-guide/serializers.md
index c88b9b0c6..930e6e01a 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/serializers.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/serializers.md
@@ -233,6 +233,15 @@ The default `ModelSerializer` uses primary keys for relationships, but you can a
 
 The `depth` option should be set to an integer value that indicates the depth of relationships that should be traversed before reverting to a flat representation.
 
+## Specifying which fields should be read_only in bulk
+
+You may wish to specify multiple fields as "read_only" which effectively ignores these fields when they appear in an "unsafe" request. Instead of adding each field explicitely with the `read_only=True` attribute, you may use the `read_only` Meta option, like so:
+
+    class MySerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
+        class Meta:
+            model = Fruit
+            read_only = ("color", "texture", "flavor", "family",)
+
 ## Customising the default fields
 
 You can create customized subclasses of `ModelSerializer` that use a different set of default fields for the representation, by overriding various `get_<field_type>_field` methods.
diff --git a/rest_framework/serializers.py b/rest_framework/serializers.py
index 0db06d150..3513cacfe 100644
--- a/rest_framework/serializers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/serializers.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class SerializerOptions(object):
         self.depth = getattr(meta, 'depth', 0)
         self.fields = getattr(meta, 'fields', ())
         self.exclude = getattr(meta, 'exclude', ())
-        self.read_only_fields = getattr(meta, 'read_only_fields', ())
+        self.read_only = getattr(meta, 'read_only', ())
 
 
 class BaseSerializer(Field):
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class BaseSerializer(Field):
         # Add in the default fields
         fields = self.default_fields(serialize, obj, data, nested)
         for key, val in fields.items():
-            if key in self.opts.read_only_fields:
+            if key in self.opts.read_only:
                 val.read_only = True
 
             if key not in ret:
diff --git a/rest_framework/tests/serializer.py b/rest_framework/tests/serializer.py
index 3fd490644..21a188e0e 100644
--- a/rest_framework/tests/serializer.py
+++ b/rest_framework/tests/serializer.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ class PersonSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
     class Meta:
         model = Person
         fields = ('name', 'age', 'info')
+        read_only = ('age',)
 
 
 class BasicTests(TestCase):
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ class BasicTests(TestCase):
         self.assertEquals(serializer.object, expected)
         self.assertTrue(serializer.object is expected)
         self.assertEquals(serializer.data['sub_comment'], 'And Merry Christmas!')
-    
+
     def test_model_fields_as_expected(self):
         """ Make sure that the fields returned are the same as defined
         in the Meta data
@@ -121,6 +122,18 @@ class BasicTests(TestCase):
         expected = self.person_data
         self.assertEquals(serializer.data['info'], expected)
 
+    def test_read_only_fields(self):
+        """
+        Attempting to update fields set as read_only should have no effect.
+        """
+
+        serializer = PersonSerializer({'name': 'dwight', 'age': 99}, instance=self.person)
+        self.assertEquals(serializer.is_valid(), True)
+        instance = serializer.save()
+        self.assertEquals(serializer.errors, {})
+        # Assert age is unchanged (35)
+        self.assertEquals(instance.age, self.person_data['age'])
+
 
 class ValidationTests(TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
@@ -220,6 +233,7 @@ class ValidationTests(TestCase):
         """
         Omitting a value for null-field should validate.
         """
+
         serializer = PersonSerializer({'name': 'marko'})
         self.assertEquals(serializer.is_valid(), True)
         self.assertEquals(serializer.errors, {})