diff --git a/docs/sanic/config.md b/docs/sanic/config.md
index 3ed40fda..a93d2cf1 100644
--- a/docs/sanic/config.md
+++ b/docs/sanic/config.md
@@ -83,3 +83,4 @@ Out of the box there are just a few predefined values which can be overwritten w
     | ----------------- | --------- | --------------------------------- |
     | REQUEST_MAX_SIZE  | 100000000 | How big a request may be (bytes)  |
     | REQUEST_TIMEOUT   | 60        | How long a request can take (sec) |
+    | KEEP_ALIVE        | True      | Disables keep-alive when False    |
diff --git a/sanic/app.py b/sanic/app.py
index d4dc4e3d..5bc7b468 100644
--- a/sanic/app.py
+++ b/sanic/app.py
@@ -680,6 +680,7 @@ class Sanic:
             'error_handler': self.error_handler,
             'request_timeout': self.config.REQUEST_TIMEOUT,
             'request_max_size': self.config.REQUEST_MAX_SIZE,
+            'keep_alive': self.config.KEEP_ALIVE,
             'loop': loop,
             'register_sys_signals': register_sys_signals,
             'backlog': backlog
diff --git a/sanic/config.py b/sanic/config.py
index 406c44e6..4c128b4b 100644
--- a/sanic/config.py
+++ b/sanic/config.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ SANIC_PREFIX = 'SANIC_'
 
 
 class Config(dict):
-    def __init__(self, defaults=None, load_env=True):
+    def __init__(self, defaults=None, load_env=True, keep_alive=True):
         super().__init__(defaults or {})
         self.LOGO = """
                  ▄▄▄▄▄
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ class Config(dict):
 """
         self.REQUEST_MAX_SIZE = 100000000  # 100 megababies
         self.REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 60  # 60 seconds
+        self.KEEP_ALIVE = keep_alive
 
         if load_env:
             self.load_environment_vars()
@@ -98,11 +99,11 @@ class Config(dict):
                 self[key] = getattr(obj, key)
 
     def load_environment_vars(self):
+        """
+        Looks for any SANIC_ prefixed environment variables and applies
+        them to the configuration if present.
+        """
         for k, v in os.environ.items():
-            """
-            Looks for any SANIC_ prefixed environment variables and applies
-            them to the configuration if present.
-            """
             if k.startswith(SANIC_PREFIX):
                 _, config_key = k.split(SANIC_PREFIX, 1)
                 self[config_key] = v
diff --git a/sanic/server.py b/sanic/server.py
index 40c3ee69..33763bbb 100644
--- a/sanic/server.py
+++ b/sanic/server.py
@@ -70,7 +70,8 @@ class HttpProtocol(asyncio.Protocol):
 
     def __init__(self, *, loop, request_handler, error_handler,
                  signal=Signal(), connections=set(), request_timeout=60,
-                 request_max_size=None, request_class=None):
+                 request_max_size=None, request_class=None,
+                 keep_alive=True):
         self.loop = loop
         self.transport = None
         self.request = None
@@ -88,10 +89,13 @@ class HttpProtocol(asyncio.Protocol):
         self._timeout_handler = None
         self._last_request_time = None
         self._request_handler_task = None
+        self._keep_alive = keep_alive
 
     @property
     def keep_alive(self):
-        return self.parser.should_keep_alive() and not self.signal.stopped
+        return (self._keep_alive
+                and not self.signal.stopped
+                and self.parser.should_keep_alive())
 
     # -------------------------------------------- #
     # Connection
@@ -322,7 +326,7 @@ def serve(host, port, request_handler, error_handler, before_start=None,
           request_timeout=60, ssl=None, sock=None, request_max_size=None,
           reuse_port=False, loop=None, protocol=HttpProtocol, backlog=100,
           register_sys_signals=True, run_async=False, connections=None,
-          signal=Signal(), request_class=None):
+          signal=Signal(), request_class=None, keep_alive=True):
     """Start asynchronous HTTP Server on an individual process.
 
     :param host: Address to host on
@@ -370,6 +374,7 @@ def serve(host, port, request_handler, error_handler, before_start=None,
         request_timeout=request_timeout,
         request_max_size=request_max_size,
         request_class=request_class,
+        keep_alive=keep_alive,
     )
 
     server_coroutine = loop.create_server(