diff --git a/django/views/generic/simple.py b/django/views/generic/simple.py
index 0a68b82a106ce..3b5309df96862 100644
--- a/django/views/generic/simple.py
+++ b/django/views/generic/simple.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from django.template import loader, RequestContext
-from django.http import HttpResponse, HttpResponsePermanentRedirect, HttpResponseGone
+from django.http import HttpResponse, HttpResponseRedirect, HttpResponsePermanentRedirect, HttpResponseGone
 
 def direct_to_template(request, template, extra_context=None, mimetype=None, **kwargs):
     """
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def direct_to_template(request, template, extra_context=None, mimetype=None, **k
     t = loader.get_template(template)
     return HttpResponse(t.render(c), mimetype=mimetype)
 
-def redirect_to(request, url, **kwargs):
+def redirect_to(request, url, permanent=True, **kwargs):
     """
     Redirect to a given URL.
 
@@ -30,8 +30,12 @@ def redirect_to(request, url, **kwargs):
         )
 
     If the given url is ``None``, a HttpResponseGone (410) will be issued.
+
+    If the ``permanent`` argument is False, then the response will have a 302
+    HTTP status code. Otherwise, the status code will be 301.
     """
     if url is not None:
-        return HttpResponsePermanentRedirect(url % kwargs)
+        klass = permanent and HttpResponsePermanentRedirect or HttpResponseRedirect
+        return klass(url % kwargs)
     else:
         return HttpResponseGone()
diff --git a/docs/ref/generic-views.txt b/docs/ref/generic-views.txt
index c14cc295d2309..efa49e3ee3781 100644
--- a/docs/ref/generic-views.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/generic-views.txt
@@ -129,14 +129,29 @@ If the given URL is ``None``, Django will return an ``HttpResponseGone`` (410).
     * ``url``: The URL to redirect to, as a string. Or ``None`` to raise a 410
       (Gone) HTTP error.
 
+**Optional arguments:**
+
+    * ``permanent``: Whether the redirect should be permanent. The only
+      difference here is the HTTP status code returned. If ``True``, then the
+      redirect will use status code 301. If ``False``, then the redirect will
+      use status code 302. By default, ``permanent`` is ``True``.
+
 **Example:**
 
-This example redirects from ``/foo/<id>/`` to ``/bar/<id>/``::
+This example issues a permanent redirect (HTTP status code 301) from
+``/foo/<id>/`` to ``/bar/<id>/``::
 
     urlpatterns = patterns('django.views.generic.simple',
         ('^foo/(?P<id>\d+)/$', 'redirect_to', {'url': '/bar/%(id)s/'}),
     )
 
+This example issues a non-permanent redirect (HTTP status code 302) from
+``/foo/<id>/`` to ``/bar/<id>/``::
+
+    urlpatterns = patterns('django.views.generic.simple',
+        ('^foo/(?P<id>\d+)/$', 'redirect_to', {'url': '/bar/%(id)s/', 'permanent': False}),
+    )
+
 This example returns a 410 HTTP error for requests to ``/bar/``::
 
     urlpatterns = patterns('django.views.generic.simple',
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/test_client/models.py b/tests/modeltests/test_client/models.py
index 2cca618b4ef7a..b975d139c658f 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/test_client/models.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/test_client/models.py
@@ -118,6 +118,12 @@ def test_permanent_redirect(self):
         # Check that the response was a 301 (permanent redirect) with absolute URI
         self.assertRedirects(response, 'http://django.testserver/test_client/get_view/', status_code=301)
 
+    def test_temporary_redirect(self):
+        "GET a URL that does a non-permanent redirect"
+        response = self.client.get('/test_client/temporary_redirect_view/')
+        # Check that the response was a 302 (non-permanent redirect)
+        self.assertRedirects(response, 'http://testserver/test_client/get_view/', status_code=302)
+
     def test_redirect_to_strange_location(self):
         "GET a URL that redirects to a non-200 page"
         response = self.client.get('/test_client/double_redirect_view/')
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/test_client/urls.py b/tests/modeltests/test_client/urls.py
index 0e511d7360b39..3c84a768a0a0a 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/test_client/urls.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/test_client/urls.py
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
     (r'^header_view/$', views.view_with_header),
     (r'^raw_post_view/$', views.raw_post_view),
     (r'^redirect_view/$', views.redirect_view),
-    (r'^permanent_redirect_view/$', redirect_to, { 'url': '/test_client/get_view/' }),
+    (r'^permanent_redirect_view/$', redirect_to, {'url': '/test_client/get_view/'}),
+    (r'^temporary_redirect_view/$', redirect_to, {'url': '/test_client/get_view/', 'permanent': False}),
     (r'^double_redirect_view/$', views.double_redirect_view),
     (r'^bad_view/$', views.bad_view),
     (r'^form_view/$', views.form_view),