diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 4579982..4506264 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -162,6 +162,10 @@ The ``ec2`` key configures the EC2 instances created by auto-scaling groups (ASG
     The path of the linux device to attach the instance to
   ``VolumeSize``
     Size in gigabytes of the EBS volume
+  ``VolumeType (optional)``
+    The type of the volume to create. One of standard (default), gp2 or io1 (see `AWS API reference <http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/APIReference/API_CreateVolume.html>`_)
+  ``Iops (Required for io1 type)``
+    The Iops value to assign to the io1 volume type.
 
   Example::
 
@@ -172,7 +176,12 @@ The ``ec2`` key configures the EC2 instances created by auto-scaling groups (ASG
           - DeviceName: /dev/sda1
             VolumeSize: 10
           - DeviceName: /dev/sdf
+            VolumeType: gp2
             VolumeSize: 100
+          - DeviceName: /dev/sdh
+            VolumeType: io1
+            VolumeSize: 80
+            Iops: 1200
 
 :``security_groups``:
   Dictionary of security groups to create and add the EC2 instances to. The key is the name of the security group and the value is a list of ingress rules following the `Cloudformation reference <http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-properties-ec2-security-group-ingress.html>`_
diff --git a/bootstrap_cfn/config.py b/bootstrap_cfn/config.py
index c48d5b7..932e2c5 100644
--- a/bootstrap_cfn/config.py
+++ b/bootstrap_cfn/config.py
@@ -865,10 +865,29 @@ def ec2(self):
         devices = []
         try:
             for i in data['block_devices']:
+                device_name = i['DeviceName']
+                volume_size = i.get('VolumeSize', 20)
+                volume_type = i.get('VolumeType', 'standard')
+                iops = i.get('Iops', None)
+                # Check we have a permitted volume type
+                if volume_type not in ['standard', 'gp2', 'io1']:
+                    raise errors.CfnConfigError("config: Volume type '%s' but must be one of standard', 'gp2' or 'io1"
+                                                % (volume_type))
+                # We need to specifiy iops if we have a volume type of io1
+                if volume_type == 'io1' and not iops:
+                    raise errors.CfnConfigError("config: Volume type io1 must have Iops defined")
+
+                # We dont set a default for iops and troposphere doesnt handle this well
+                if not iops:
+                    ebs = EBSBlockDevice(VolumeType=volume_type, VolumeSize=volume_size)
+                else:
+                    ebs = EBSBlockDevice(VolumeType=volume_type, VolumeSize=volume_size, Iops=iops)
+
                 devices.append(BlockDeviceMapping(
-                    DeviceName=i['DeviceName'],
-                    Ebs=EBSBlockDevice(VolumeSize=i['VolumeSize']),
+                    DeviceName=device_name,
+                    Ebs=ebs
                 ))
+
         except KeyError:
             devices.append(BlockDeviceMapping(
                 DeviceName="/dev/sda1",
diff --git a/tests/sample-project.yaml b/tests/sample-project.yaml
index f6d287b..a865bc8 100644
--- a/tests/sample-project.yaml
+++ b/tests/sample-project.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ dev:
       - DeviceName: /dev/sda1
         VolumeSize: 10
       - DeviceName: /dev/sdf
+        VolumeType: gp2
         VolumeSize: 10
+      - DeviceName: /dev/sdg
+        VolumeType: io1
+        VolumeSize: 20
+        Iops: 100
     security_groups:
       AnotherSG:
         - IpProtocol: tcp
diff --git a/tests/test.py b/tests/test.py
index 13ece13..c00486d 100644
--- a/tests/test.py
+++ b/tests/test.py
@@ -29,7 +29,12 @@ def setUp(self):
                                   'block_devices': [{'DeviceName': '/dev/sda1',
                                                      'VolumeSize': 10},
                                                     {'DeviceName': '/dev/sdf',
-                                                     'VolumeSize': 10}],
+                                                     'VolumeType': 'gp2',
+                                                     'VolumeSize': 10},
+                                                    {'DeviceName': '/dev/sdg',
+                                                     'VolumeType': 'io1',
+                                                     'VolumeSize': 20,
+                                                     'Iops': 100}],
                                   'parameters': {'InstanceType': 't2.micro',
                                                  'KeyName': 'default'},
                                   'security_groups': [{'CidrIp': '0.0.0.0/0',
diff --git a/tests/tests.py b/tests/tests.py
index 5814b6f..8ba25d5 100755
--- a/tests/tests.py
+++ b/tests/tests.py
@@ -1295,11 +1295,15 @@ def test_ec2(self):
             BlockDeviceMappings=[
                 {
                     "DeviceName": "/dev/sda1",
-                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10}
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10, "VolumeType": "standard"}
                 },
                 {
                     "DeviceName": "/dev/sdf",
-                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10}
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10, "VolumeType": "gp2"}
+                },
+                {
+                    "DeviceName": "/dev/sdg",
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 20, "VolumeType": "io1", "Iops": 100}
                 }
             ],
             KeyName="default",
@@ -1345,11 +1349,15 @@ def test_launchconfig_userdata(self):
             BlockDeviceMappings=[
                 {
                     "DeviceName": "/dev/sda1",
-                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10}
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10, "VolumeType": "standard"}
                 },
                 {
                     "DeviceName": "/dev/sdf",
-                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10}
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 10, "VolumeType": "gp2"}
+                },
+                {
+                    "DeviceName": "/dev/sdg",
+                    "Ebs": {"VolumeSize": 20, "VolumeType": "io1", "Iops": 100}
                 }
             ],
             KeyName="default",