diff --git a/pandas_datareader/base.py b/pandas_datareader/base.py
index fab2c4c3..a56b1099 100644
--- a/pandas_datareader/base.py
+++ b/pandas_datareader/base.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class _BaseReader(object):
     _format = 'string'
 
     def __init__(self, symbols, start=None, end=None,
-                 retry_count=3, pause=0.1, session=None):
+                 retry_count=3, pause=0.1, timeout=30, session=None):
         self.symbols = symbols
 
         start, end = self._sanitize_dates(start, end)
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ def __init__(self, symbols, start=None, end=None,
             raise ValueError("'retry_count' must be integer larger than 0")
         self.retry_count = retry_count
         self.pause = pause
+        self.timeout = timeout
         self.session = self._init_session(session, retry_count)
 
     def _init_session(self, session, retry_count):
diff --git a/pandas_datareader/edgar.py b/pandas_datareader/edgar.py
index 98433121..75597208 100644
--- a/pandas_datareader/edgar.py
+++ b/pandas_datareader/edgar.py
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ def _fix_old_file_paths(self, path):
 
     def read(self):
         try:
-            self._sec_ftp_session = FTP(_SEC_FTP)
+            self._sec_ftp_session = FTP(_SEC_FTP, timeout=self.timeout)
             self._sec_ftp_session.login()
         except EOFError:
             raise RemoteDataError('FTP server has closed the connection.')