diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 8c6625798..2daf2317d 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -29,23 +29,27 @@ matrix:
       env:
         - NUMPYSPEC=numpy
         - MATPLOTLIBSPEC=matplotlib
+        - CYTHONSPEC=cython
         - USE_WHEEL=1
     - os: linux
       python: 3.7-dev
       env:
         - NUMPYSPEC=numpy
         - MATPLOTLIBSPEC=matplotlib
+        - CYTHONSPEC=cython
         - USE_SDIST=1
     - os: linux
       python: 2.7
       env:
         - NUMPYSPEC="numpy==1.9.3"
         - MATPLOTLIBSPEC="matplotlib<=2.2.2"  # 2.2.3 requires numpy >= 1.10
+        - CYTHONSPEC=cython
     - os: linux
       python: 3.5
       env:
         - NUMPYSPEC=numpy
         - MATPLOTLIBSPEC=matplotlib
+        - CYTHONSPEC="cython==0.23.5"
         - REFGUIDE_CHECK=1  # run doctests only
     - os: osx
       osx_image: xcode7.3
@@ -53,6 +57,7 @@ matrix:
       env:
         - NUMPYSPEC=numpy
         - MATPLOTLIBSPEC=matplotlib
+        - CYTHONSPEC=cython
         - TRAVIS_PYTHON_VERSION=3.5
 
 cache: pip
@@ -69,7 +74,8 @@ before_install:
   # Set numpy version first, other packages link against it
   - pip install $NUMPYSPEC
   - pip install $MATPLOTLIBSPEC
-  - pip install Cython nose coverage codecov futures
+  - pip install $CYTHONSPEC
+  - pip install nose coverage codecov futures
   - set -o pipefail
   - if [ "${USE_WHEEL}" == "1" ]; then pip install wheel; fi
   - |
diff --git a/doc/release/1.0.2-notes.rst b/doc/release/1.0.2-notes.rst
index c8ad65b34..39087b6e3 100644
--- a/doc/release/1.0.2-notes.rst
+++ b/doc/release/1.0.2-notes.rst
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ can be returned by ``pywt.cwt``.
 
 Cython language compatibility has been pinned to ``language_level = '2'``. This
 is in contrast to the `master` branch which is now using
-``language_level = '3'``.
+``language_level = '3'``. To support this, the minimum supported Cython version
+has been raised to 0.23.5.
 
 Authors
 =======
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ Pull requests for v1.0.2
 - `#458 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/458>`__: MAINT: 1.0.x Fix deprecated import for Iterable
 - `#464 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/464>`__: backport of #448 (fix coefficient shape mismatch in WaveletPacket reconstruction)
 - `#465 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/465>`__: backport of gh-462 (iswtn axis fix)
+- `#469 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/469>`__: MAINT 1.0.x backport #452 (bump minimum supported Cython version)
 
 The backports listed above correspond to the following PRs from the master branch
 
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ The backports listed above correspond to the following PRs from the master branc
 - `#446 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/446>`__: Spelling correction
 - `#448 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/448>`__: Properly trim wavelet packet node coefficients during reconstruction
 - `#450 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/450>`__: handle mixed dtype cofficients correctly across inverse transforms
+- `#452 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/452>`__: bump minimum supported Cython version
 - `#462 <https://github.com/PyWavelets/pywt/issues/462>`__: fix bug in iswtn for data of arbitrary shape when using user-specified axes
 
 
diff --git a/doc/source/install.rst b/doc/source/install.rst
index 3d7814dc9..231cbf215 100644
--- a/doc/source/install.rst
+++ b/doc/source/install.rst
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ The requirements needed to build from source are:
 
  - Python_ 2.7 or >=3.4
  - Numpy_ >= 1.9.1
- - Cython_ >= 0.20.2  (if installing from git, not from a PyPI source release)
+ - Cython_ >= 0.23.5  (if installing from git, not from a PyPI source release)
 
 To run all the tests for PyWavelets, you will also need to install the
 Matplotlib_ package.
diff --git a/util/readthedocs/requirements.txt b/util/readthedocs/requirements.txt
index 5bd7ea95d..db25531e3 100644
--- a/util/readthedocs/requirements.txt
+++ b/util/readthedocs/requirements.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 numpy
-Cython==0.20.2
+cython
 nose
 wheel
 numpydoc