diff --git a/examples/ipc_pyarrow/.gitignore b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7d92770a26f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+data.arrows
diff --git a/examples/ipc_pyarrow/Cargo.toml b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..47bc82181b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[package]
+name = "ipc_stream"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2018"
+
+[dependencies]
+arrow2 = { path = "../../", default-features = false, features = ["io_ipc"] }
diff --git a/examples/ipc_pyarrow/main.py b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/main.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c3b1468dea8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/main.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import pyarrow as pa
+from time import sleep
+import socket
+
+# Set up the data exchange socket
+sk = socket.socket()
+sk.bind(("127.0.0.1", 12989))
+sk.listen()
+
+data = [
+    pa.array([1, 2, 3, 4]),
+    pa.array(["foo", "bar", "baz", None]),
+    pa.array([True, None, False, True]),
+]
+
+batch = pa.record_batch(data, names=["f0", "f1", "f2"])
+
+# Accept incoming connection and stream the data away
+connection, address = sk.accept()
+dummy_socket_file = connection.makefile("wb")
+with pa.RecordBatchStreamWriter(dummy_socket_file, batch.schema) as writer:
+    for i in range(50):
+        writer.write_batch(batch)
+        sleep(1)
diff --git a/examples/ipc_pyarrow/run.sh b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/run.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..193fc1c4183
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+python main.py &
+PRODUCER_PID=$!
+
+sleep 1 # wait for metadata to be available.
+cargo run
+
+kill $PRODUCER_PID
diff --git a/examples/ipc_pyarrow/src/main.rs b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ce92e4e1b21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ipc_pyarrow/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+use std::net::TcpStream;
+use std::thread;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use arrow2::array::{Array, Int64Array};
+use arrow2::datatypes::DataType;
+use arrow2::error::Result;
+use arrow2::io::ipc::read;
+
+fn main() -> Result<()> {
+    const ADDRESS: &str = "127.0.0.1:12989";
+
+    let mut reader = TcpStream::connect(ADDRESS)?;
+    let metadata = read::read_stream_metadata(&mut reader)?;
+    let mut stream = read::StreamReader::new(&mut reader, metadata);
+
+    let mut idx = 0;
+    loop {
+        match stream.next() {
+            Some(x) => match x {
+                Ok(read::StreamState::Some(b)) => {
+                    idx += 1;
+                    println!("batch: {:?}", idx)
+                }
+                Ok(read::StreamState::Waiting) => thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(2000)),
+                Err(l) => println!("{:?} ({})", l, idx),
+            },
+            None => break,
+        };
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/guide/src/SUMMARY.md b/guide/src/SUMMARY.md
index cdf5aec37ee..6ba760bec79 100644
--- a/guide/src/SUMMARY.md
+++ b/guide/src/SUMMARY.md
@@ -13,4 +13,5 @@
     - [Read Parquet](./io/parquet_read.md)
     - [Write Parquet](./io/parquet_write.md)
     - [Read Arrow](./io/ipc_read.md)
+    - [Read Arrow stream](./io/ipc_stream_read.md)
     - [Write Arrow](./io/ipc_write.md)
diff --git a/guide/src/io/ipc_stream_read.md b/guide/src/io/ipc_stream_read.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0ab872ac986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/guide/src/io/ipc_stream_read.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Read Arrow streams
+
+When compiled with feature `io_ipc`, this crate can be used to read Arrow streams.
+
+The example below shows how to read from a stream:
+
+```rust
+{{#include ../../../examples/ipc_pyarrow/src/main.rs}}
+```
+
+e.g. written by pyarrow:
+
+```python,ignore
+{{#include ../../../examples/ipc_pyarrow/main.py}}
+```
+
+via
+
+```bash,ignore
+{{#include ../../../examples/ipc_pyarrow/run.sh}}
+```
diff --git a/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-file-to-stream.rs b/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-file-to-stream.rs
index 9b1ae23a0b5..34da2bdf075 100644
--- a/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-file-to-stream.rs
+++ b/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-file-to-stream.rs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
     let mut reader = read::FileReader::new(&mut f, metadata, None);
     let schema = reader.schema();
 
-    let mut writer = StreamWriter::try_new(std::io::stdout(), &schema)?;
+    let mut writer = StreamWriter::try_new(std::io::stdout(), schema)?;
 
     reader.try_for_each(|batch| {
         let batch = batch?;
diff --git a/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-stream-to-file.rs b/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-stream-to-file.rs
index c9db624d64b..c17ff7d9e91 100644
--- a/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-stream-to-file.rs
+++ b/integration-testing/src/bin/arrow-stream-to-file.rs
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
 
     let mut writer = io::stdout();
 
-    let mut writer = FileWriter::try_new(&mut writer, &schema)?;
+    let mut writer = FileWriter::try_new(&mut writer, schema)?;
 
-    arrow_stream_reader.try_for_each(|batch| writer.write(&batch?))?;
+    arrow_stream_reader.try_for_each(|batch| writer.write(&batch?.unwrap()))?;
     writer.finish()?;
 
     Ok(())
diff --git a/integration-testing/src/flight_client_scenarios/integration_test.rs b/integration-testing/src/flight_client_scenarios/integration_test.rs
index 7cb128cdf67..820c82114b1 100644
--- a/integration-testing/src/flight_client_scenarios/integration_test.rs
+++ b/integration-testing/src/flight_client_scenarios/integration_test.rs
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ async fn send_batch(
     options: &write::IpcWriteOptions,
 ) -> Result {
     let (dictionary_flight_data, mut batch_flight_data) =
-        arrow_flight::utils::flight_data_from_arrow_batch(batch, &options);
+        arrow_flight::utils::flight_data_from_arrow_batch(batch, options);
 
     upload_tx
         .send_all(&mut stream::iter(dictionary_flight_data).map(Ok))
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ async fn verify_data(
             consume_flight_location(
                 location,
                 ticket.clone(),
-                &expected_data,
+                expected_data,
                 expected_schema.clone(),
             )
             .await?;
diff --git a/integration-testing/src/flight_server_scenarios/integration_test.rs b/integration-testing/src/flight_server_scenarios/integration_test.rs
index de6951fee43..16954647090 100644
--- a/integration-testing/src/flight_server_scenarios/integration_test.rs
+++ b/integration-testing/src/flight_server_scenarios/integration_test.rs
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ async fn record_batch_from_message(
         schema_ref,
         None,
         true,
-        &dictionaries_by_field,
+        dictionaries_by_field,
         MetadataVersion::V5,
         &mut reader,
         0,
diff --git a/src/io/ipc/read/mod.rs b/src/io/ipc/read/mod.rs
index 8ed127e2698..76b139a589f 100644
--- a/src/io/ipc/read/mod.rs
+++ b/src/io/ipc/read/mod.rs
@@ -24,4 +24,4 @@ mod stream;
 
 pub use common::{read_dictionary, read_record_batch};
 pub use reader::{read_file_metadata, FileMetadata, FileReader};
-pub use stream::{read_stream_metadata, StreamMetadata, StreamReader};
+pub use stream::{read_stream_metadata, StreamMetadata, StreamReader, StreamState};
diff --git a/src/io/ipc/read/stream.rs b/src/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
index 5018f7953be..ed7f5955dfe 100644
--- a/src/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
+++ b/src/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use gen::Schema::MetadataVersion;
 use crate::array::*;
 use crate::datatypes::Schema;
 use crate::error::{ArrowError, Result};
-use crate::record_batch::{RecordBatch, RecordBatchReader};
+use crate::record_batch::RecordBatch;
 
 use super::super::CONTINUATION_MARKER;
 use super::super::{convert, gen};
@@ -76,12 +76,27 @@ pub fn read_stream_metadata<R: Read>(reader: &mut R) -> Result<StreamMetadata> {
     })
 }
 
+pub enum StreamState {
+    Waiting,
+    Some(RecordBatch),
+}
+
+impl StreamState {
+    pub fn unwrap(self) -> RecordBatch {
+        if let StreamState::Some(batch) = self {
+            batch
+        } else {
+            panic!("The batch is not available")
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Reads the next item
 pub fn read_next<R: Read>(
     reader: &mut R,
     metadata: &StreamMetadata,
     dictionaries_by_field: &mut Vec<Option<ArrayRef>>,
-) -> Result<Option<RecordBatch>> {
+) -> Result<Option<StreamState>> {
     // determine metadata length
     let mut meta_size: [u8; 4] = [0; 4];
 
@@ -92,7 +107,7 @@ pub fn read_next<R: Read>(
                 // Handle EOF without the "0xFFFFFFFF 0x00000000"
                 // valid according to:
                 // https://arrow.apache.org/docs/format/Columnar.html#ipc-streaming-format
-                Ok(None)
+                Ok(Some(StreamState::Waiting))
             } else {
                 Err(ArrowError::from(e))
             };
@@ -144,7 +159,7 @@ pub fn read_next<R: Read>(
                 &mut reader,
                 0,
             )
-            .map(Some)
+            .map(|x| Some(StreamState::Some(x)))
         }
         gen::Message::MessageHeader::DictionaryBatch => {
             let batch = message.header_as_dictionary_batch().ok_or_else(|| {
@@ -168,7 +183,7 @@ pub fn read_next<R: Read>(
             // read the next message until we encounter a RecordBatch
             read_next(reader, metadata, dictionaries_by_field)
         }
-        gen::Message::MessageHeader::NONE => Ok(None),
+        gen::Message::MessageHeader::NONE => Ok(Some(StreamState::Waiting)),
         t => Err(ArrowError::Ipc(format!(
             "Reading types other than record batches not yet supported, unable to read {:?} ",
             t
@@ -210,32 +225,26 @@ impl<R: Read> StreamReader<R> {
         self.finished
     }
 
-    fn maybe_next(&mut self) -> Result<Option<RecordBatch>> {
+    fn maybe_next(&mut self) -> Result<Option<StreamState>> {
+        if self.finished {
+            return Ok(None);
+        }
         let batch = read_next(
             &mut self.reader,
             &self.metadata,
             &mut self.dictionaries_by_field,
         )?;
         if batch.is_none() {
-            self.finished = false;
-        }
-        if self.finished {
-            return Ok(None);
+            self.finished = true;
         }
         Ok(batch)
     }
 }
 
 impl<R: Read> Iterator for StreamReader<R> {
-    type Item = Result<RecordBatch>;
+    type Item = Result<StreamState>;
 
     fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
         self.maybe_next().transpose()
     }
 }
-
-impl<R: Read> RecordBatchReader for StreamReader<R> {
-    fn schema(&self) -> &Schema {
-        self.metadata.schema.as_ref()
-    }
-}
diff --git a/tests/it/io/ipc/common.rs b/tests/it/io/ipc/common.rs
index f9f2be91fe5..6a46c03393e 100644
--- a/tests/it/io/ipc/common.rs
+++ b/tests/it/io/ipc/common.rs
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ pub fn read_arrow_stream(version: &str, file_name: &str) -> (Schema, Vec<RecordB
 
     (
         schema.as_ref().clone(),
-        reader.collect::<Result<_>>().unwrap(),
+        reader
+            .map(|x| x.map(|x| x.unwrap()))
+            .collect::<Result<_>>()
+            .unwrap(),
     )
 }
diff --git a/tests/it/io/ipc/read/stream.rs b/tests/it/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
index 9aa5e31a1bc..d6ad005e78d 100644
--- a/tests/it/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
+++ b/tests/it/io/ipc/read/stream.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ fn test_file(version: &str, file_name: &str) -> Result<()> {
 
     batches
         .iter()
-        .zip(reader.map(|x| x.unwrap()))
+        .zip(reader.map(|x| x.unwrap().unwrap()))
         .for_each(|(lhs, rhs)| {
             assert_eq!(lhs, &rhs);
         });
diff --git a/tests/it/io/ipc/write/stream.rs b/tests/it/io/ipc/write/stream.rs
index c13831839bf..e9019d01f9b 100644
--- a/tests/it/io/ipc/write/stream.rs
+++ b/tests/it/io/ipc/write/stream.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,10 @@ fn test_file(version: &str, file_name: &str) {
 
     assert_eq!(schema.as_ref(), &expected_schema);
 
-    let batches = reader.collect::<Result<Vec<_>>>().unwrap();
+    let batches = reader
+        .map(|x| x.map(|x| x.unwrap()))
+        .collect::<Result<Vec<_>>>()
+        .unwrap();
 
     assert_eq!(batches, expected_batches);
 }