diff --git a/container.go b/container.go
index a22484c2d6..db444e758c 100644
--- a/container.go
+++ b/container.go
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ func ParseRun(args []string, capabilities *Capabilities) (*Config, *HostConfig,
 	cmd.Var(flVolumes, "v", "Bind mount a volume (e.g. from the host: -v /host:/container, from docker: -v /container)")
 
 	var flVolumesFrom utils.ListOpts
-	cmd.Var(&flVolumesFrom, "volumes-from", "Mount volumes from the specified container")
+	cmd.Var(&flVolumesFrom, "volumes-from", "Mount volumes from the specified container(s)")
 
 	flEntrypoint := cmd.String("entrypoint", "", "Overwrite the default entrypoint of the image")
 
@@ -749,9 +749,23 @@ func (container *Container) Start() (err error) {
 
 	// Apply volumes from another container if requested
 	if container.Config.VolumesFrom != "" {
-		volumes := strings.Split(container.Config.VolumesFrom, ",")
-		for _, v := range volumes {
-			c := container.runtime.Get(v)
+		containerSpecs := strings.Split(container.Config.VolumesFrom, ",")
+		for _, containerSpec := range containerSpecs {
+			mountRW := true
+			specParts := strings.SplitN(containerSpec, ":", 2)
+			switch len(specParts) {
+			case 0:
+				return fmt.Errorf("Malformed volumes-from specification: %s", container.Config.VolumesFrom)
+			case 2:
+				switch specParts[1] {
+				case "ro":
+					mountRW = false
+				case "rw": // mountRW is already true
+				default:
+					return fmt.Errorf("Malformed volumes-from speficication: %s", containerSpec)
+				}
+			}
+			c := container.runtime.Get(specParts[0])
 			if c == nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("Container %s not found. Impossible to mount its volumes", container.ID)
 			}
@@ -764,7 +778,7 @@ func (container *Container) Start() (err error) {
 				}
 				container.Volumes[volPath] = id
 				if isRW, exists := c.VolumesRW[volPath]; exists {
-					container.VolumesRW[volPath] = isRW
+					container.VolumesRW[volPath] = isRW && mountRW
 				}
 			}
 
diff --git a/container_test.go b/container_test.go
index cbabffc364..5540bb9c27 100644
--- a/container_test.go
+++ b/container_test.go
@@ -1338,6 +1338,68 @@ func TestBindMounts(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Test that -volumes-from supports both read-only mounts
+func TestFromVolumesInReadonlyMode(t *testing.T) {
+	runtime := mkRuntime(t)
+	defer nuke(runtime)
+	container, _, err := runtime.Create(
+		&Config{
+			Image:     GetTestImage(runtime).ID,
+			Cmd:       []string{"/bin/echo", "-n", "foobar"},
+			Volumes:   map[string]struct{}{"/test": {}},
+		},
+		"",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer runtime.Destroy(container)
+	_, err = container.Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !container.VolumesRW["/test"] {
+		t.Fail()
+	}
+
+	container2, _, err := runtime.Create(
+		&Config{
+			Image:       GetTestImage(runtime).ID,
+			Cmd:         []string{"/bin/echo", "-n", "foobar"},
+			VolumesFrom: container.ID + ":ro",
+		},
+		"",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer runtime.Destroy(container2)
+
+	_, err = container2.Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	if container.Volumes["/test"] != container2.Volumes["/test"] {
+		t.Logf("container volumes do not match: %s | %s ", 
+			container.Volumes["/test"],
+			container2.Volumes["/test"])
+		t.Fail()
+	}
+
+	_, exists := container2.VolumesRW["/test"]
+	if !exists {
+		t.Logf("container2 is missing '/test' volume: %s", container2.VolumesRW)
+		t.Fail()
+	}
+
+	if container2.VolumesRW["/test"] != false {
+		t.Log("'/test' volume mounted in read-write mode, expected read-only")
+		t.Fail()
+	}
+}
+
+
 // Test that VolumesRW values are copied to the new container.  Regression test for #1201
 func TestVolumesFromReadonlyMount(t *testing.T) {
 	runtime := mkRuntime(t)
diff --git a/docs/sources/commandline/cli.rst b/docs/sources/commandline/cli.rst
index da0c262c4a..786fca6a6f 100644
--- a/docs/sources/commandline/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/sources/commandline/cli.rst
@@ -576,7 +576,7 @@ network communication.
       -u="": Username or UID
       -dns=[]: Set custom dns servers for the container
       -v=[]: Create a bind mount with: [host-dir]:[container-dir]:[rw|ro]. If "container-dir" is missing, then docker creates a new volume.
-      -volumes-from="": Mount all volumes from the given container
+      -volumes-from="": Mount all volumes from the given container(s)
       -entrypoint="": Overwrite the default entrypoint set by the image
       -w="": Working directory inside the container
       -lxc-conf=[]: Add custom lxc options -lxc-conf="lxc.cgroup.cpuset.cpus = 0,1"
@@ -668,6 +668,17 @@ can access the network and environment of the redis container via
 environment variables.  The ``-name`` flag will assign the name ``console``
 to the newly created container.
 
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker run -volumes-from 777f7dc92da7,ba8c0c54f0f2:ro -i -t ubuntu pwd
+
+The ``-volumes-from`` flag mounts all the defined volumes from the
+refrence containers. Containers can be specified by a comma seperated
+list or by repetitions of the ``-volumes-from`` argument. The container
+id may be optionally suffixed with ``:ro`` or ``:rw`` to mount the volumes in
+read-only or read-write mode, respectively. By default, the volumes are mounted
+in the same mode (rw or ro) as the reference container.
+
 .. _cli_search:
 
 ``search``