diff --git a/sanic/request.py b/sanic/request.py
index f3de36f8..a5d204a8 100644
--- a/sanic/request.py
+++ b/sanic/request.py
@@ -174,6 +174,10 @@ class Request(dict):
         # so pull it from the headers
         return self.headers.get('Host', '')
 
+    @property
+    def content_type(self):
+        return self.headers.get('Content-Type', DEFAULT_HTTP_CONTENT_TYPE)
+
     @property
     def path(self):
         return self._parsed_url.path.decode('utf-8')