diff --git a/rest_framework/authtoken/models.py b/rest_framework/authtoken/models.py
index 8eac2cc49..366d7a4da 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authtoken/models.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authtoken/models.py
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ class Token(models.Model):
         return super(Token, self).save(*args, **kwargs)
 
     def generate_key(self):
+        if hasattr(settings, 'SECRET_KEY') and len(settings.SECRET_KEY):
+            return sha1('%s%s' % (settings.SECRET_KEY, binascii.hexlify(os.urandom(20)))).hexdigest()
+
         return binascii.hexlify(os.urandom(20))
 
     def __unicode__(self):