diff --git a/Doc/library/unittest.rst b/Doc/library/unittest.rst
index af71be40b89ff2..85bf2d475d72e3 100644
--- a/Doc/library/unittest.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/unittest.rst
@@ -693,6 +693,11 @@ Test cases
    and report failures, and some inquiry methods allowing information about the
    test itself to be gathered.
 
+   .. versionchanged:: 3.8
+         Any test method, along with :meth:`setUp` and :meth:`tearDown` can
+         optionally be coroutine functions. In this case, they will be executed
+         on the default loop when running the test.
+
    Methods in the first group (running the test) are:
 
    .. method:: setUp()
@@ -702,6 +707,9 @@ Test cases
       any exception raised by this method will be considered an error rather than
       a test failure. The default implementation does nothing.
 
+      .. versionchanged:: 3.8
+         This method can optionally be a coroutine function.
+
 
    .. method:: tearDown()
 
@@ -715,6 +723,9 @@ Test cases
       the :meth:`setUp` succeeds, regardless of the outcome of the test method.
       The default implementation does nothing.
 
+      .. versionchanged:: 3.8
+         This method can optionally be a coroutine function.
+
 
    .. method:: setUpClass()
 
diff --git a/Lib/unittest/case.py b/Lib/unittest/case.py
index c0170d182573cb..6dd40bb4fdc7fc 100644
--- a/Lib/unittest/case.py
+++ b/Lib/unittest/case.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Test case implementation"""
 
+import asyncio
 import sys
 import functools
 import difflib
@@ -369,6 +370,9 @@ class TestCase(object):
     of the classes are instantiated automatically by parts of the framework
     in order to be run.
 
+    The setUp, tearDown, and any test methods may optionally be coroutine
+    functions and will be executed in the default loop.
+
     When subclassing TestCase, you can set these attributes:
     * failureException: determines which exception will be raised when
         the instance's assertion methods fail; test methods raising this
@@ -608,14 +612,14 @@ def run(self, result=None):
             self._outcome = outcome
 
             with outcome.testPartExecutor(self):
-                self.setUp()
+                self._runIfCoroutine(self.setUp())
             if outcome.success:
                 outcome.expecting_failure = expecting_failure
                 with outcome.testPartExecutor(self, isTest=True):
-                    testMethod()
+                    self._runIfCoroutine(testMethod())
                 outcome.expecting_failure = False
                 with outcome.testPartExecutor(self):
-                    self.tearDown()
+                    self._runIfCoroutine(self.tearDown())
 
             self.doCleanups()
             for test, reason in outcome.skipped:
@@ -1329,6 +1333,17 @@ def assertNotRegex(self, text, unexpected_regex, msg=None):
             msg = self._formatMessage(msg, standardMsg)
             raise self.failureException(msg)
 
+    def _runIfCoroutine(self, possible_coroutine):
+        """Execute the argument in the default loop if it is a coroutine.
+
+        Otherwise, just return the argument. This function wraps test
+        methods and allows them to be async.
+        """
+        if asyncio.iscoroutine(possible_coroutine):
+            loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+            return loop.run_until_complete(possible_coroutine)
+        else:
+            return possible_coroutine
 
     def _deprecate(original_func):
         def deprecated_func(*args, **kwargs):
diff --git a/Lib/unittest/test/test_case.py b/Lib/unittest/test/test_case.py
index 6b3439781c9de2..9cc49e20c2f954 100644
--- a/Lib/unittest/test/test_case.py
+++ b/Lib/unittest/test/test_case.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import asyncio
 import contextlib
 import difflib
 import pprint
@@ -1828,6 +1829,36 @@ def test2(self):
             testcase.run()
             self.assertEqual(MyException.ninstance, 0)
 
+    def test_coroutines(self):
+        # Test that test methods, setUp and tearDown can
+        # be coroutines.
+        class TestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+            def __init__(self, method_name):
+                super().__init__(method_name)
+                self.setUp_called = False
+                self.tearDown_called = False
+                self.test1_called = False
+
+            async def setUp(self):
+                # Await 0 seconds to prevent the entire function
+                # from executing immediately.
+                await asyncio.sleep(0.0)
+                self.setUp_called = True
+
+            async def tearDown(self):
+                await asyncio.sleep(0.0)
+                self.tearDown_called = True
+
+            async def test1(self):
+                await asyncio.sleep(0.0)
+                self.test1_called = True
+
+        testcase = TestCase('test1')
+        testcase.run()
+        self.assertTrue(testcase.setUp_called)
+        self.assertTrue(testcase.tearDown_called)
+        self.assertTrue(testcase.test1_called)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/Misc/ACKS b/Misc/ACKS
index d8179c8b03ab3f..46b151536d781e 100644
--- a/Misc/ACKS
+++ b/Misc/ACKS
@@ -1540,6 +1540,7 @@ Daniel Stokes
 Michael Stone
 Serhiy Storchaka
 Ken Stox
+Petter Strandmark
 Charalampos Stratakis
 Dan Stromberg
 Donald Stufft
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2018-03-05-20-01-47.bpo-32992.gfeea.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2018-03-05-20-01-47.bpo-32992.gfeea.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..02981b24c78874
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2018-03-05-20-01-47.bpo-32992.gfeea.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Test methods,  ``setUp`` and ``tearDown`` in ``unittest.TestCase`` may now be
+coroutine functions and will be excuted in the default ``asyncio`` loop.
+Patch by Petter Strandmark.