diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index f7cad051b..90089e9a5 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ Feng Ma
 Florian Bruhin
 Floris Bruynooghe
 Gabriel Reis
+George Kussumoto
 Georgy Dyuldin
 Graham Horler
 Greg Price
diff --git a/_pytest/outcomes.py b/_pytest/outcomes.py
index ff5ef756d..7f0c18fa6 100644
--- a/_pytest/outcomes.py
+++ b/_pytest/outcomes.py
@@ -62,14 +62,21 @@ def exit(msg):
 exit.Exception = Exit
 
 
-def skip(msg=""):
+def skip(msg="", **kwargs):
     """ skip an executing test with the given message.  Note: it's usually
     better to use the pytest.mark.skipif marker to declare a test to be
     skipped under certain conditions like mismatching platforms or
     dependencies.  See the pytest_skipping plugin for details.
+
+    :kwarg bool allow_module_level: allows this function to be called at
+        module level, skipping the rest of the module. Default to False.
     """
     __tracebackhide__ = True
-    raise Skipped(msg=msg)
+    allow_module_level = kwargs.pop('allow_module_level', False)
+    if kwargs:
+        keys = [k for k in kwargs.keys()]
+        raise TypeError('unexpected keyword arguments: {0}'.format(keys))
+    raise Skipped(msg=msg, allow_module_level=allow_module_level)
 
 
 skip.Exception = Skipped
diff --git a/_pytest/skipping.py b/_pytest/skipping.py
index 11ae2d03d..40dd6cbf5 100644
--- a/_pytest/skipping.py
+++ b/_pytest/skipping.py
@@ -362,7 +362,8 @@ def folded_skips(skipped):
         # folding reports with global pytestmark variable
         # this is workaround, because for now we cannot identify the scope of a skip marker
         # TODO: revisit after marks scope would be fixed
-        if event.when == 'setup' and 'skip' in keywords and 'pytestmark' not in keywords:
+        when = getattr(event, 'when', None)
+        if when == 'setup' and 'skip' in keywords and 'pytestmark' not in keywords:
             key = (key[0], None, key[2], )
         d.setdefault(key, []).append(event)
     l = []
diff --git a/changelog/2808.feature b/changelog/2808.feature
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..26245f047
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/2808.feature
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add ``allow_module_level`` kwarg to ``pytest.skip()``, enabling to skip the whole module.
diff --git a/doc/en/skipping.rst b/doc/en/skipping.rst
index b87cb1ae5..79c4385ca 100644
--- a/doc/en/skipping.rst
+++ b/doc/en/skipping.rst
@@ -54,6 +54,16 @@ by calling the ``pytest.skip(reason)`` function:
         if not valid_config():
             pytest.skip("unsupported configuration")
 
+It is also possible to skip the whole module using
+``pytest.skip(reason, allow_module_level=True)`` at the module level:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    import pytest
+
+    if not pytest.config.getoption("--custom-flag"):
+        pytest.skip("--custom-flag is missing, skipping tests", allow_module_level=True)
+
 The imperative method is useful when it is not possible to evaluate the skip condition
 during import time.
 
diff --git a/testing/test_skipping.py b/testing/test_skipping.py
index 1fbb9ed0f..ae334e7cd 100644
--- a/testing/test_skipping.py
+++ b/testing/test_skipping.py
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ def test_skipif_class(testdir):
 
 
 def test_skip_reasons_folding():
-    path = 'xyz'
+    path = "xyz"
     lineno = 3
     message = "justso"
     longrepr = (path, lineno, message)
@@ -680,10 +680,15 @@ def test_skip_reasons_folding():
     ev2.longrepr = longrepr
     ev2.skipped = True
 
-    l = folded_skips([ev1, ev2])
+    # ev3 might be a collection report
+    ev3 = X()
+    ev3.longrepr = longrepr
+    ev3.skipped = True
+
+    l = folded_skips([ev1, ev2, ev3])
     assert len(l) == 1
     num, fspath, lineno, reason = l[0]
-    assert num == 2
+    assert num == 3
     assert fspath == path
     assert lineno == lineno
     assert reason == message
@@ -1005,6 +1010,40 @@ def test_module_level_skip_error(testdir):
     )
 
 
+def test_module_level_skip_with_allow_module_level(testdir):
+    """
+    Verify that using pytest.skip(allow_module_level=True) is allowed
+    """
+    testdir.makepyfile("""
+        import pytest
+        pytest.skip("skip_module_level", allow_module_level=True)
+
+        def test_func():
+            assert 0
+    """)
+    result = testdir.runpytest("-rxs")
+    result.stdout.fnmatch_lines(
+        "*SKIP*skip_module_level"
+    )
+
+
+def test_invalid_skip_keyword_parameter(testdir):
+    """
+    Verify that using pytest.skip() with unknown parameter raises an error
+    """
+    testdir.makepyfile("""
+        import pytest
+        pytest.skip("skip_module_level", unknown=1)
+
+        def test_func():
+            assert 0
+    """)
+    result = testdir.runpytest()
+    result.stdout.fnmatch_lines(
+        "*TypeError:*['unknown']*"
+    )
+
+
 def test_mark_xfail_item(testdir):
     # Ensure pytest.mark.xfail works with non-Python Item
     testdir.makeconftest("""