diff --git a/doc/users/whats_new/rcparams.rst b/doc/users/whats_new/rcparams.rst
index 7111a6e6c215..4e7d367c46cb 100644
--- a/doc/users/whats_new/rcparams.rst
+++ b/doc/users/whats_new/rcparams.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+Added ``xtick.minor.visible`` and ``ytick.minor.visible`` key to rcParams
+`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
+Two new keys to control the minor ticks on x/y axis respectively, default set to ``False`` (no minor ticks on the axis).
+
+When ``True``, the minor ticks are shown and located via a ``mticker.AutoMinorLocator()``.
+
 Added "legend.framealpha" key to rcParams
 `````````````````````````````````````````
 Added a key and the corresponding logic to control the default transparency of
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
index e7b9696947c9..4765e76a54a5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
@@ -881,6 +881,13 @@ def cla(self):
         else:
             self.yaxis._set_scale('linear')
 
+        # update the minor locator for x and y axis based on rcParams
+        if (rcParams['xtick.minor.visible']):
+            self.xaxis.set_minor_locator(mticker.AutoMinorLocator())
+
+        if (rcParams['ytick.minor.visible']):
+            self.yaxis.set_minor_locator(mticker.AutoMinorLocator())
+
         self._autoscaleXon = True
         self._autoscaleYon = True
         self._xmargin = rcParams['axes.xmargin']
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
index b25788da001e..2c24ad25b2e0 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
@@ -694,6 +694,8 @@ def __call__(self, s):
     'xtick.major.pad':   [4, validate_float],    # distance to label in points
     'xtick.minor.pad':   [4, validate_float],    # distance to label in points
     'xtick.color':       ['k', validate_color],  # color of the xtick labels
+    'xtick.minor.visible':   [False, validate_bool],    # visiablility of the x axis minor ticks
+    
     # fontsize of the xtick labels
     'xtick.labelsize':   ['medium', validate_fontsize],
     'xtick.direction':   ['in', six.text_type],            # direction of xticks
@@ -705,6 +707,8 @@ def __call__(self, s):
     'ytick.major.pad':   [4, validate_float],     # distance to label in points
     'ytick.minor.pad':   [4, validate_float],     # distance to label in points
     'ytick.color':       ['k', validate_color],   # color of the ytick labels
+    'ytick.minor.visible':   [False, validate_bool],    # visiablility of the y axis minor ticks
+
     # fontsize of the ytick labels
     'ytick.labelsize':   ['medium', validate_fontsize],
     'ytick.direction':   ['in', six.text_type],            # direction of yticks
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/baseline_images/test_axes/minorticks_on_rcParams_both.png b/lib/matplotlib/tests/baseline_images/test_axes/minorticks_on_rcParams_both.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..42fc1debbd12
Binary files /dev/null and b/lib/matplotlib/tests/baseline_images/test_axes/minorticks_on_rcParams_both.png differ
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
index db170440d221..d931ca031afc 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
@@ -129,6 +129,17 @@ def test_twinx_cla():
     assert_true(ax.yaxis.get_visible())
 
 
+@image_comparison(baseline_images=["minorticks_on_rcParams_both"], extensions=['png'])
+def test_minorticks_on_rcParams_both():
+    
+    fig = plt.figure()
+    matplotlib.rcParams['xtick.minor.visible'] = True
+    matplotlib.rcParams['ytick.minor.visible'] = True
+
+    plt.plot([0, 1], [0, 1])
+    plt.axis([0, 1, 0, 1])
+
+
 @image_comparison(baseline_images=["autoscale_tiny_range"], remove_text=True)
 def test_autoscale_tiny_range():
     # github pull #904