diff --git a/rest_framework/authtoken/management/commands/drf_create_token.py b/rest_framework/authtoken/management/commands/drf_create_token.py
index ccd400ed5..8419614de 100644
--- a/rest_framework/authtoken/management/commands/drf_create_token.py
+++ b/rest_framework/authtoken/management/commands/drf_create_token.py
@@ -16,5 +16,11 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
 
     def handle(self, *args, **options):
         username = options['username']
-        token = self.create_user_token(username)
+
+        try:
+            token = self.create_user_token(username)
+        except User.DoesNotExist:
+            print('Cannot create the Token: user {0} does not exist'.format(
+                username
+            ))
         print('Generated token {0} for user {1}'.format(token.key, username))
diff --git a/tests/test_authtoken.py b/tests/test_authtoken.py
index 3b5a618e3..407d82944 100644
--- a/tests/test_authtoken.py
+++ b/tests/test_authtoken.py
@@ -48,3 +48,7 @@ class AuthTokenCommandTests(TestCase):
         assert token is not None
         token_saved = Token.objects.first()
         assert token.key == token_saved.key
+
+    def test_command_create_user_token_invalid_user(self):
+        with pytest.raises(User.DoesNotExist):
+            AuthTokenCommand().create_user_token('not_existing_user')