diff --git a/docs/api-guide/throttling.md b/docs/api-guide/throttling.md
index 42f9c228d..9f0f7cc5e 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/throttling.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/throttling.md
@@ -70,6 +70,12 @@ Or, if you're using the `@api_view` decorator with function based views.
 
 The throttle classes provided by REST framework use Django's cache backend.  You should make sure that you've set appropriate [cache settings][cache-setting].  The default value of `LocMemCache` backend should be okay for simple setups.  See Django's [cache documentation][cache-docs] for more details.
 
+You could select the cache to use, using the `THROTTLE_CACHE_ALIAS` setting. For example.
+
+    REST_FRAMEWORK = {
+        'THROTTLE_CACHE_ALIAS': 'default'
+    }
+
 ---
 
 # API Reference
diff --git a/docs/topics/release-notes.md b/docs/topics/release-notes.md
index 626831cbf..614983db0 100644
--- a/docs/topics/release-notes.md
+++ b/docs/topics/release-notes.md
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ You can determine your currently installed version using `pip freeze`:
 ### Master
 
 * Support customizable view name and description functions, using the `VIEW_NAME_FUNCTION` and `VIEW_DESCRIPTION_FUNCTION` settings.
+* Add `THROTTLE_CACHE_ALIAS` option to choose throttle cache.
 * Bugfix: `required=True` argument fixed for boolean serializer fields.
 * Bugfix: `client.force_authenticate(None)` should also clear session info if it exists.
 * Bugfix: Client sending emptry string instead of file now clears `FileField`.
diff --git a/rest_framework/settings.py b/rest_framework/settings.py
index 2ee15ac7c..9d8639e1f 100644
--- a/rest_framework/settings.py
+++ b/rest_framework/settings.py
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ DEFAULTS = {
     ),
     'TIME_FORMAT': None,
 
+    'THROTTLE_CACHE_ALIAS': 'default',
+
     # Pending deprecation
     'FILTER_BACKEND': None,
 }
diff --git a/rest_framework/throttling.py b/rest_framework/throttling.py
index 65b455930..afe155f93 100644
--- a/rest_framework/throttling.py
+++ b/rest_framework/throttling.py
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@
 Provides various throttling policies.
 """
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
-from django.core.cache import cache
+from django.core.cache import get_cache
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
 import time
 
+cache = get_cache(api_settings.THROTTLE_CACHE_ALIAS)
+
 
 class BaseThrottle(object):
     """