diff --git a/api/client/info.go b/api/client/info.go
index 4566f6c1a6..df1415c9cb 100644
--- a/api/client/info.go
+++ b/api/client/info.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func (cli *DockerCli) CmdInfo(args ...string) error {
 	ioutils.FprintfIfNotEmpty(cli.out, "Logging Driver: %s\n", info.LoggingDriver)
 	ioutils.FprintfIfNotEmpty(cli.out, "Cgroup Driver: %s\n", info.CgroupDriver)
 
-	fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, "Plugins: \n")
+	fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, "Plugins:\n")
 	fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, " Volume:")
 	fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, " %s", strings.Join(info.Plugins.Volume, " "))
 	fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, "\n")
@@ -84,6 +84,16 @@ func (cli *DockerCli) CmdInfo(args ...string) error {
 			fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, " IsManager: No\n")
 		}
 	}
+
+	if len(info.Runtimes) > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, "Runtimes:")
+		for name := range info.Runtimes {
+			fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, " %s", name)
+		}
+		fmt.Fprint(cli.out, "\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(cli.out, "Default Runtime: %s\n", info.DefaultRuntime)
+	}
+
 	ioutils.FprintfIfNotEmpty(cli.out, "Kernel Version: %s\n", info.KernelVersion)
 	ioutils.FprintfIfNotEmpty(cli.out, "Operating System: %s\n", info.OperatingSystem)
 	ioutils.FprintfIfNotEmpty(cli.out, "OSType: %s\n", info.OSType)
diff --git a/cmd/dockerd/daemon.go b/cmd/dockerd/daemon.go
index 2b39aae8c4..2717ee3132 100644
--- a/cmd/dockerd/daemon.go
+++ b/cmd/dockerd/daemon.go
@@ -388,6 +388,10 @@ func loadDaemonCliConfig(config *daemon.Config, flags *flag.FlagSet, commonConfi
 		}
 	}
 
+	if err := daemon.ValidateConfiguration(config); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	// Regardless of whether the user sets it to true or false, if they
 	// specify TLSVerify at all then we need to turn on TLS
 	if config.IsValueSet(cliflags.TLSVerifyKey) {
diff --git a/cmd/dockerd/daemon_unix.go b/cmd/dockerd/daemon_unix.go
index 50588b9e24..3e197c498f 100644
--- a/cmd/dockerd/daemon_unix.go
+++ b/cmd/dockerd/daemon_unix.go
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ func (cli *DaemonCli) getPlatformRemoteOptions() []libcontainerd.RemoteOption {
 	if cli.Config.LiveRestore {
 		opts = append(opts, libcontainerd.WithLiveRestore(true))
 	}
+	opts = append(opts, libcontainerd.WithRuntimePath(daemon.DefaultRuntimeBinary))
 	return opts
 }
 
diff --git a/daemon/config.go b/daemon/config.go
index 2331045fdb..e41eb49884 100644
--- a/daemon/config.go
+++ b/daemon/config.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/discovery"
 	flag "github.com/docker/docker/pkg/mflag"
 	"github.com/docker/docker/registry"
+	"github.com/docker/engine-api/types"
 	"github.com/imdario/mergo"
 )
 
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ const (
 var flatOptions = map[string]bool{
 	"cluster-store-opts": true,
 	"log-opts":           true,
+	"runtimes":           true,
 }
 
 // LogConfig represents the default log configuration.
@@ -200,7 +202,7 @@ func ReloadConfiguration(configFile string, flags *flag.FlagSet, reload func(*Co
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := validateConfiguration(newConfig); err != nil {
+	if err := ValidateConfiguration(newConfig); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("file configuration validation failed (%v)", err)
 	}
 
@@ -224,7 +226,7 @@ func MergeDaemonConfigurations(flagsConfig *Config, flags *flag.FlagSet, configF
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if err := validateConfiguration(fileConfig); err != nil {
+	if err := ValidateConfiguration(fileConfig); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("file configuration validation failed (%v)", err)
 	}
 
@@ -233,6 +235,12 @@ func MergeDaemonConfigurations(flagsConfig *Config, flags *flag.FlagSet, configF
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// We need to validate again once both fileConfig and flagsConfig
+	// have been merged
+	if err := ValidateConfiguration(fileConfig); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("file configuration validation failed (%v)", err)
+	}
+
 	return fileConfig, nil
 }
 
@@ -381,10 +389,10 @@ func findConfigurationConflicts(config map[string]interface{}, flags *flag.FlagS
 	return nil
 }
 
-// validateConfiguration validates some specific configs.
+// ValidateConfiguration validates some specific configs.
 // such as config.DNS, config.Labels, config.DNSSearch,
 // as well as config.MaxConcurrentDownloads, config.MaxConcurrentUploads.
-func validateConfiguration(config *Config) error {
+func ValidateConfiguration(config *Config) error {
 	// validate DNS
 	for _, dns := range config.DNS {
 		if _, err := opts.ValidateIPAddress(dns); err != nil {
@@ -415,5 +423,20 @@ func validateConfiguration(config *Config) error {
 	if config.IsValueSet("max-concurrent-uploads") && config.MaxConcurrentUploads != nil && *config.MaxConcurrentUploads < 0 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid max concurrent uploads: %d", *config.MaxConcurrentUploads)
 	}
+
+	// validate that "default" runtime is not reset
+	if runtimes := config.GetAllRuntimes(); len(runtimes) > 0 {
+		if _, ok := runtimes[types.DefaultRuntimeName]; ok {
+			return fmt.Errorf("runtime name '%s' is reserved", types.DefaultRuntimeName)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if defaultRuntime := config.GetDefaultRuntimeName(); defaultRuntime != "" && defaultRuntime != types.DefaultRuntimeName {
+		runtimes := config.GetAllRuntimes()
+		if _, ok := runtimes[defaultRuntime]; !ok {
+			return fmt.Errorf("specified default runtime '%s' does not exist", defaultRuntime)
+		}
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/daemon/config_test.go b/daemon/config_test.go
index 7647f4d3cb..0375c1ae21 100644
--- a/daemon/config_test.go
+++ b/daemon/config_test.go
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err := validateConfiguration(c1)
+	err := ValidateConfiguration(c1)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error, got nil")
 	}
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err = validateConfiguration(c2)
+	err = ValidateConfiguration(c2)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("expected no error, got error %v", err)
 	}
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err = validateConfiguration(c3)
+	err = ValidateConfiguration(c3)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("expected no error, got error %v", err)
 	}
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err = validateConfiguration(c4)
+	err = ValidateConfiguration(c4)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error, got nil")
 	}
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err = validateConfiguration(c5)
+	err = ValidateConfiguration(c5)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("expected no error, got error %v", err)
 	}
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ func TestValidateConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	err = validateConfiguration(c6)
+	err = ValidateConfiguration(c6)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error, got nil")
 	}
diff --git a/daemon/config_unix.go b/daemon/config_unix.go
index 7e8d2bb6f4..4cb5390c21 100644
--- a/daemon/config_unix.go
+++ b/daemon/config_unix.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/docker/opts"
 	flag "github.com/docker/docker/pkg/mflag"
 	runconfigopts "github.com/docker/docker/runconfig/opts"
+	"github.com/docker/engine-api/types"
 	"github.com/docker/go-units"
 )
 
@@ -30,6 +31,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	ExecRoot             string                   `json:"exec-root,omitempty"`
 	RemappedRoot         string                   `json:"userns-remap,omitempty"`
 	Ulimits              map[string]*units.Ulimit `json:"default-ulimits,omitempty"`
+	Runtimes             map[string]types.Runtime `json:"runtimes,omitempty"`
+	DefaultRuntime       string                   `json:"default-runtime,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // bridgeConfig stores all the bridge driver specific
@@ -83,6 +86,37 @@ func (config *Config) InstallFlags(cmd *flag.FlagSet, usageFn func(string) strin
 	cmd.StringVar(&config.RemappedRoot, []string{"-userns-remap"}, "", usageFn("User/Group setting for user namespaces"))
 	cmd.StringVar(&config.ContainerdAddr, []string{"-containerd"}, "", usageFn("Path to containerd socket"))
 	cmd.BoolVar(&config.LiveRestore, []string{"-live-restore"}, false, usageFn("Enable live restore of docker when containers are still running"))
+	config.Runtimes = make(map[string]types.Runtime)
+	cmd.Var(runconfigopts.NewNamedRuntimeOpt("runtimes", &config.Runtimes), []string{"-add-runtime"}, usageFn("Register an additional OCI compatible runtime"))
+	cmd.StringVar(&config.DefaultRuntime, []string{"-default-runtime"}, types.DefaultRuntimeName, usageFn("Default OCI runtime to be used"))
 
 	config.attachExperimentalFlags(cmd, usageFn)
 }
+
+// GetRuntime returns the runtime path and arguments for a given
+// runtime name
+func (config *Config) GetRuntime(name string) *types.Runtime {
+	config.reloadLock.Lock()
+	defer config.reloadLock.Unlock()
+	if rt, ok := config.Runtimes[name]; ok {
+		return &rt
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// GetDefaultRuntimeName returns the current default runtime
+func (config *Config) GetDefaultRuntimeName() string {
+	config.reloadLock.Lock()
+	rt := config.DefaultRuntime
+	config.reloadLock.Unlock()
+
+	return rt
+}
+
+// GetAllRuntimes returns a copy of the runtimes map
+func (config *Config) GetAllRuntimes() map[string]types.Runtime {
+	config.reloadLock.Lock()
+	rts := config.Runtimes
+	config.reloadLock.Unlock()
+	return rts
+}
diff --git a/daemon/config_windows.go b/daemon/config_windows.go
index 2d17b14e0a..f62ae95e73 100644
--- a/daemon/config_windows.go
+++ b/daemon/config_windows.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	flag "github.com/docker/docker/pkg/mflag"
+	"github.com/docker/engine-api/types"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -40,3 +41,19 @@ func (config *Config) InstallFlags(cmd *flag.FlagSet, usageFn func(string) strin
 	cmd.StringVar(&config.bridgeConfig.Iface, []string{"b", "-bridge"}, "", "Attach containers to a virtual switch")
 	cmd.StringVar(&config.SocketGroup, []string{"G", "-group"}, "", usageFn("Users or groups that can access the named pipe"))
 }
+
+// GetRuntime returns the runtime path and arguments for a given
+// runtime name
+func (config *Config) GetRuntime(name string) *types.Runtime {
+	return nil
+}
+
+// GetDefaultRuntimeName returns the current default runtime
+func (config *Config) GetDefaultRuntimeName() string {
+	return types.DefaultRuntimeName
+}
+
+// GetAllRuntimes returns a copy of the runtimes map
+func (config *Config) GetAllRuntimes() map[string]types.Runtime {
+	return map[string]types.Runtime{}
+}
diff --git a/daemon/daemon.go b/daemon/daemon.go
index ed37e0b30e..0c34c35359 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon.go
+++ b/daemon/daemon.go
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
+	// DefaultRuntimeBinary is the default runtime to be used by
+	// containerd if none is specified
+	DefaultRuntimeBinary = "docker-runc"
+
 	errSystemNotSupported = fmt.Errorf("The Docker daemon is not supported on this platform.")
 )
 
@@ -811,10 +815,24 @@ func (daemon *Daemon) initDiscovery(config *Config) error {
 // - Cluster discovery (reconfigure and restart).
 // - Daemon live restore
 func (daemon *Daemon) Reload(config *Config) error {
+	var err error
+	// used to hold reloaded changes
+	attributes := map[string]string{}
+
+	// We need defer here to ensure the lock is released as
+	// daemon.SystemInfo() will try to get it too
+	defer func() {
+		if err == nil {
+			daemon.LogDaemonEventWithAttributes("reload", attributes)
+		}
+	}()
+
 	daemon.configStore.reloadLock.Lock()
 	defer daemon.configStore.reloadLock.Unlock()
 
-	if err := daemon.reloadClusterDiscovery(config); err != nil {
+	daemon.platformReload(config, &attributes)
+
+	if err = daemon.reloadClusterDiscovery(config); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -859,7 +877,6 @@ func (daemon *Daemon) Reload(config *Config) error {
 	}
 
 	// We emit daemon reload event here with updatable configurations
-	attributes := map[string]string{}
 	attributes["debug"] = fmt.Sprintf("%t", daemon.configStore.Debug)
 	attributes["cluster-store"] = daemon.configStore.ClusterStore
 	if daemon.configStore.ClusterOpts != nil {
@@ -877,7 +894,6 @@ func (daemon *Daemon) Reload(config *Config) error {
 	}
 	attributes["max-concurrent-downloads"] = fmt.Sprintf("%d", *daemon.configStore.MaxConcurrentDownloads)
 	attributes["max-concurrent-uploads"] = fmt.Sprintf("%d", *daemon.configStore.MaxConcurrentUploads)
-	daemon.LogDaemonEventWithAttributes("reload", attributes)
 
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/daemon/daemon_solaris.go b/daemon/daemon_solaris.go
index b43ec68481..942525569a 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon_solaris.go
+++ b/daemon/daemon_solaris.go
@@ -73,6 +73,10 @@ func verifyPlatformContainerSettings(daemon *Daemon, hostConfig *containertypes.
 	return warnings, nil
 }
 
+// platformReload update configuration with platform specific options
+func (daemon *Daemon) platformReload(config *Config, attributes *map[string]string) {
+}
+
 // verifyDaemonSettings performs validation of daemon config struct
 func verifyDaemonSettings(config *Config) error {
 	// checkSystem validates platform-specific requirements
diff --git a/daemon/daemon_unix.go b/daemon/daemon_unix.go
index 3ef3ec1338..03095b920e 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon_unix.go
+++ b/daemon/daemon_unix.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 package daemon
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"net"
@@ -515,9 +516,42 @@ func verifyPlatformContainerSettings(daemon *Daemon, hostConfig *containertypes.
 			return warnings, fmt.Errorf("cgroup-parent for systemd cgroup should be a valid slice named as \"xxx.slice\"")
 		}
 	}
+	if hostConfig.Runtime == "" {
+		hostConfig.Runtime = daemon.configStore.GetDefaultRuntimeName()
+	}
+
+	if rt := daemon.configStore.GetRuntime(hostConfig.Runtime); rt == nil {
+		return warnings, fmt.Errorf("Unknown runtime specified %s", hostConfig.Runtime)
+	}
+
 	return warnings, nil
 }
 
+// platformReload update configuration with platform specific options
+func (daemon *Daemon) platformReload(config *Config, attributes *map[string]string) {
+	if config.IsValueSet("runtimes") {
+		daemon.configStore.Runtimes = config.Runtimes
+		// Always set the default one
+		daemon.configStore.Runtimes[types.DefaultRuntimeName] = types.Runtime{Path: DefaultRuntimeBinary}
+	}
+
+	if config.DefaultRuntime != "" {
+		daemon.configStore.DefaultRuntime = config.DefaultRuntime
+	}
+
+	// Update attributes
+	var runtimeList bytes.Buffer
+	for name, rt := range daemon.configStore.Runtimes {
+		if runtimeList.Len() > 0 {
+			runtimeList.WriteRune(' ')
+		}
+		runtimeList.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", name, rt))
+	}
+
+	(*attributes)["runtimes"] = runtimeList.String()
+	(*attributes)["default-runtime"] = daemon.configStore.DefaultRuntime
+}
+
 // verifyDaemonSettings performs validation of daemon config struct
 func verifyDaemonSettings(config *Config) error {
 	// Check for mutually incompatible config options
@@ -538,6 +572,15 @@ func verifyDaemonSettings(config *Config) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("cgroup-parent for systemd cgroup should be a valid slice named as \"xxx.slice\"")
 		}
 	}
+
+	if config.DefaultRuntime == "" {
+		config.DefaultRuntime = types.DefaultRuntimeName
+	}
+	if config.Runtimes == nil {
+		config.Runtimes = make(map[string]types.Runtime)
+	}
+	config.Runtimes[types.DefaultRuntimeName] = types.Runtime{Path: DefaultRuntimeBinary}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/daemon/daemon_windows.go b/daemon/daemon_windows.go
index 0ba7e3a6d1..423b86b5e5 100644
--- a/daemon/daemon_windows.go
+++ b/daemon/daemon_windows.go
@@ -156,6 +156,10 @@ func verifyPlatformContainerSettings(daemon *Daemon, hostConfig *containertypes.
 	return warnings, nil
 }
 
+// platformReload update configuration with platform specific options
+func (daemon *Daemon) platformReload(config *Config, attributes *map[string]string) {
+}
+
 // verifyDaemonSettings performs validation of daemon config struct
 func verifyDaemonSettings(config *Config) error {
 	return nil
diff --git a/daemon/info.go b/daemon/info.go
index 433f92421c..00d659a0ff 100644
--- a/daemon/info.go
+++ b/daemon/info.go
@@ -131,6 +131,8 @@ func (daemon *Daemon) SystemInfo() (*types.Info, error) {
 		v.CPUCfsQuota = sysInfo.CPUCfsQuota
 		v.CPUShares = sysInfo.CPUShares
 		v.CPUSet = sysInfo.Cpuset
+		v.Runtimes = daemon.configStore.GetAllRuntimes()
+		v.DefaultRuntime = daemon.configStore.GetDefaultRuntimeName()
 	}
 
 	hostname := ""
diff --git a/daemon/start.go b/daemon/start.go
index 89525d404e..7ced9e1440 100644
--- a/daemon/start.go
+++ b/daemon/start.go
@@ -132,15 +132,25 @@ func (daemon *Daemon) containerStart(container *container.Container) (err error)
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := daemon.containerd.Create(container.ID, *spec, libcontainerd.WithRestartManager(container.RestartManager(true))); err != nil {
+	createOptions := []libcontainerd.CreateOption{libcontainerd.WithRestartManager(container.RestartManager(true))}
+	copts, err := daemon.getLibcontainerdCreateOptions(container)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if copts != nil {
+		createOptions = append(createOptions, *copts...)
+	}
+
+	if err := daemon.containerd.Create(container.ID, *spec, createOptions...); err != nil {
 		errDesc := grpc.ErrorDesc(err)
 		logrus.Errorf("Create container failed with error: %s", errDesc)
 		// if we receive an internal error from the initial start of a container then lets
 		// return it instead of entering the restart loop
 		// set to 127 for container cmd not found/does not exist)
-		if strings.Contains(errDesc, "executable file not found") ||
-			strings.Contains(errDesc, "no such file or directory") ||
-			strings.Contains(errDesc, "system cannot find the file specified") {
+		if strings.Contains(errDesc, container.Path) &&
+			(strings.Contains(errDesc, "executable file not found") ||
+				strings.Contains(errDesc, "no such file or directory") ||
+				strings.Contains(errDesc, "system cannot find the file specified")) {
 			container.ExitCode = 127
 		}
 		// set to 126 for container cmd can't be invoked errors
diff --git a/daemon/start_linux.go b/daemon/start_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..50a9148a9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/start_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package daemon
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/docker/docker/container"
+	"github.com/docker/docker/libcontainerd"
+)
+
+func (daemon *Daemon) getLibcontainerdCreateOptions(container *container.Container) (*[]libcontainerd.CreateOption, error) {
+	createOptions := []libcontainerd.CreateOption{}
+
+	rt := daemon.configStore.GetRuntime(container.HostConfig.Runtime)
+	if rt == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("No such runtime '%s'", container.HostConfig.Runtime)
+	}
+	createOptions = append(createOptions, libcontainerd.WithRuntime(rt.Path, rt.Args))
+
+	return &createOptions, nil
+}
diff --git a/daemon/start_windows.go b/daemon/start_windows.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..af3fe7602b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/start_windows.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package daemon
+
+import (
+	"github.com/docker/docker/container"
+	"github.com/docker/docker/libcontainerd"
+)
+
+func (daemon *Daemon) getLibcontainerdCreateOptions(container *container.Container) (*[]libcontainerd.CreateOption, error) {
+	return &[]libcontainerd.CreateOption{}, nil
+}
diff --git a/docs/reference/commandline/create.md b/docs/reference/commandline/create.md
index 03d3779237..37769a02e7 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commandline/create.md
+++ b/docs/reference/commandline/create.md
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ Creates a new container.
       --privileged                  Give extended privileges to this container
       --read-only                   Mount the container's root filesystem as read only
       --restart="no"                Restart policy (no, on-failure[:max-retry], always, unless-stopped)
+      --runtime=""                  Name of the runtime to be used for that container
       --security-opt=[]             Security options
       --stop-signal="SIGTERM"       Signal to stop a container
       --shm-size=[]                 Size of `/dev/shm`. The format is `<number><unit>`. `number` must be greater than `0`.  Unit is optional and can be `b` (bytes), `k` (kilobytes), `m` (megabytes), or `g` (gigabytes). If you omit the unit, the system uses bytes. If you omit the size entirely, the system uses `64m`.
diff --git a/docs/reference/commandline/dockerd.md b/docs/reference/commandline/dockerd.md
index 1d500433d4..ec44c0ab90 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commandline/dockerd.md
+++ b/docs/reference/commandline/dockerd.md
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ weight = -1
       -p, --pidfile="/var/run/docker.pid"    Path to use for daemon PID file
       --raw-logs                             Full timestamps without ANSI coloring
       --registry-mirror=[]                   Preferred Docker registry mirror
+      --add-runtime=[]                       Register an additional OCI compatible runtime
       -s, --storage-driver=""                Storage driver to use
       --selinux-enabled                      Enable selinux support
       --storage-opt=[]                       Set storage driver options
@@ -572,6 +573,31 @@ The Docker daemon relies on a
 (invoked via the `containerd` daemon) as its interface to the Linux
 kernel `namespaces`, `cgroups`, and `SELinux`.
 
+Runtimes can be registered with the daemon either via the
+configuration file or using the `--add-runtime` command line argument.
+
+The following is an example adding 2 runtimes via the configuration:
+```json
+	"default-runtime": "runc",
+	"runtimes": {
+		"runc": {
+			"path": "runc"
+		},
+		"custom": {
+			"path": "/usr/local/bin/my-runc-replacement",
+			"runtimeArgs": [
+				"--debug"
+			]
+		}
+	}
+```
+
+This is the same example via the command line:
+
+    $ sudo dockerd --add-runtime runc=runc --add-runtime custom=/usr/local/bin/my-runc-replacement
+
+**Note**: defining runtime arguments via the command line is not supported.
+
 ## Options for the runtime
 
 You can configure the runtime using options specified
@@ -1014,7 +1040,19 @@ This is a full example of the allowed configuration options in the file:
 	"raw-logs": false,
 	"registry-mirrors": [],
 	"insecure-registries": [],
-	"disable-legacy-registry": false
+	"disable-legacy-registry": false,
+	"default-runtime": "runc",
+	"runtimes": {
+		"runc": {
+			"path": "runc"
+		},
+		"custom": {
+			"path": "/usr/local/bin/my-runc-replacement",
+			"runtimeArgs": [
+				"--debug"
+			]
+		}
+	}
 }
 ```
 
@@ -1036,6 +1074,11 @@ The list of currently supported options that can be reconfigured is this:
 - `labels`: it replaces the daemon labels with a new set of labels.
 - `max-concurrent-downloads`: it updates the max concurrent downloads for each pull.
 - `max-concurrent-uploads`: it updates the max concurrent uploads for each push.
+- `default-runtime`: it updates the runtime to be used if not is
+  specified at container creation. It defaults to "default" which is
+  the runtime shipped with the official docker packages.
+- `runtimes`: it updates the list of available OCI runtimes that can
+  be used to run containers
 
 Updating and reloading the cluster configurations such as `--cluster-store`,
 `--cluster-advertise` and `--cluster-store-opts` will take effect only if
diff --git a/docs/reference/commandline/run.md b/docs/reference/commandline/run.md
index 6b66c394a8..e1e98a02a9 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commandline/run.md
+++ b/docs/reference/commandline/run.md
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ parent = "smn_cli"
       --read-only                   Mount the container's root filesystem as read only
       --restart="no"                Restart policy (no, on-failure[:max-retry], always, unless-stopped)
       --rm                          Automatically remove the container when it exits
+      --runtime=""                  Name of the runtime to be used for that container
       --shm-size=[]                 Size of `/dev/shm`. The format is `<number><unit>`. `number` must be greater than `0`.  Unit is optional and can be `b` (bytes), `k` (kilobytes), `m` (megabytes), or `g` (gigabytes). If you omit the unit, the system uses bytes. If you omit the size entirely, the system uses `64m`.
       --security-opt=[]             Security Options
       --sig-proxy=true              Proxy received signals to the process
diff --git a/integration-cli/docker_cli_daemon_test.go b/integration-cli/docker_cli_daemon_test.go
index 9546f3bf80..363bca3073 100644
--- a/integration-cli/docker_cli_daemon_test.go
+++ b/integration-cli/docker_cli_daemon_test.go
@@ -2378,3 +2378,183 @@ func (s *DockerDaemonSuite) TestDaemonDnsOptionsInHostMode(c *check.C) {
 	out, _ := s.d.Cmd("run", "--net=host", "busybox", "cat", "/etc/resolv.conf")
 	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, expectedOutput, check.Commentf("Expected '%s', but got %q", expectedOutput, out))
 }
+
+func (s *DockerDaemonSuite) TestRunWithRuntimeFromConfigFile(c *check.C) {
+	conf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "config-file-")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+	configName := conf.Name()
+	conf.Close()
+	defer os.Remove(configName)
+
+	config := `
+{
+    "runtimes": {
+        "oci": {
+            "path": "docker-runc"
+        },
+        "vm": {
+            "path": "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager",
+            "runtimeArgs": [
+                "--debug"
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+}
+`
+	ioutil.WriteFile(configName, []byte(config), 0644)
+	err = s.d.Start("--config-file", configName)
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+
+	// Run with default runtime
+	out, err := s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with default runtime explicitely
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with oci (same path as default) but keep it around
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--name", "oci-runtime-ls", "--runtime=oci", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with "vm"
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=vm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager: no such file or directory")
+
+	// Reset config to only have the default
+	config = `
+{
+    "runtimes": {
+    }
+}
+`
+	ioutil.WriteFile(configName, []byte(config), 0644)
+	syscall.Kill(s.d.cmd.Process.Pid, syscall.SIGHUP)
+	// Give daemon time to reload config
+	<-time.After(1 * time.Second)
+
+	// Run with default runtime
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with "oci"
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=oci", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "Unknown runtime specified oci")
+
+	// Start previously created container with oci
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("start", "oci-runtime-ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "Unknown runtime specified oci")
+
+	// Check that we can't override the default runtime
+	config = `
+{
+    "runtimes": {
+        "default": {
+            "path": "docker-runc"
+        }
+    }
+}
+`
+	ioutil.WriteFile(configName, []byte(config), 0644)
+	syscall.Kill(s.d.cmd.Process.Pid, syscall.SIGHUP)
+	// Give daemon time to reload config
+	<-time.After(1 * time.Second)
+
+	content, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(s.d.logFile.Name())
+	c.Assert(string(content), checker.Contains, `file configuration validation failed (runtime name 'default' is reserved)`)
+
+	// Check that we can select a default runtime
+	config = `
+{
+    "default-runtime": "vm",
+    "runtimes": {
+        "oci": {
+            "path": "docker-runc"
+        },
+        "vm": {
+            "path": "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager",
+            "runtimeArgs": [
+                "--debug"
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+}
+`
+	ioutil.WriteFile(configName, []byte(config), 0644)
+	syscall.Kill(s.d.cmd.Process.Pid, syscall.SIGHUP)
+	// Give daemon time to reload config
+	<-time.After(1 * time.Second)
+
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager: no such file or directory")
+
+	// Run with default runtime explicitely
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+}
+
+func (s *DockerDaemonSuite) TestRunWithRuntimeFromCommandLine(c *check.C) {
+	err := s.d.Start("--add-runtime", "oci=docker-runc", "--add-runtime", "vm=/usr/local/bin/vm-manager")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+
+	// Run with default runtime
+	out, err := s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with default runtime explicitely
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with oci (same path as default) but keep it around
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--name", "oci-runtime-ls", "--runtime=oci", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with "vm"
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=vm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager: no such file or directory")
+
+	// Start a daemon without any extra runtimes
+	s.d.Stop()
+	err = s.d.Start()
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+
+	// Run with default runtime
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+
+	// Run with "oci"
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=oci", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "Unknown runtime specified oci")
+
+	// Start previously created container with oci
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("start", "oci-runtime-ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "Unknown runtime specified oci")
+
+	// Check that we can't override the default runtime
+	s.d.Stop()
+	err = s.d.Start("--add-runtime", "default=docker-runc")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil)
+
+	content, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(s.d.logFile.Name())
+	c.Assert(string(content), checker.Contains, `runtime name 'default' is reserved`)
+
+	// Check that we can select a default runtime
+	s.d.Stop()
+	err = s.d.Start("--default-runtime=vm", "--add-runtime", "oci=docker-runc", "--add-runtime", "vm=/usr/local/bin/vm-manager")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil)
+
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.NotNil, check.Commentf(out))
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, "/usr/local/bin/vm-manager: no such file or directory")
+
+	// Run with default runtime explicitely
+	out, err = s.d.Cmd("run", "--rm", "--runtime=default", "busybox", "ls")
+	c.Assert(err, check.IsNil, check.Commentf(out))
+}
diff --git a/integration-cli/docker_cli_events_unix_test.go b/integration-cli/docker_cli_events_unix_test.go
index d0a25ed2bf..892d80a8a5 100644
--- a/integration-cli/docker_cli_events_unix_test.go
+++ b/integration-cli/docker_cli_events_unix_test.go
@@ -436,7 +436,8 @@ func (s *DockerDaemonSuite) TestDaemonEvents(c *check.C) {
 
 	out, err = s.d.Cmd("events", "--since=0", "--until", daemonUnixTime(c))
 	c.Assert(err, checker.IsNil)
-	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, fmt.Sprintf("daemon reload %s (cluster-advertise=, cluster-store=, cluster-store-opts={}, debug=true, labels=[\"bar=foo\"], max-concurrent-downloads=1, max-concurrent-uploads=5, name=%s)", daemonID, daemonName))
+
+	c.Assert(out, checker.Contains, fmt.Sprintf("daemon reload %s (cluster-advertise=, cluster-store=, cluster-store-opts={}, debug=true, default-runtime=default, labels=[\"bar=foo\"], max-concurrent-downloads=1, max-concurrent-uploads=5, name=%s, runtimes=default:{docker-runc []})", daemonID, daemonName))
 }
 
 func (s *DockerDaemonSuite) TestDaemonEventsWithFilters(c *check.C) {
diff --git a/integration-cli/docker_cli_info_test.go b/integration-cli/docker_cli_info_test.go
index 2e3400582a..816cbfdde2 100644
--- a/integration-cli/docker_cli_info_test.go
+++ b/integration-cli/docker_cli_info_test.go
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ func (s *DockerSuite) TestInfoEnsureSucceeds(c *check.C) {
 		"Network:",
 	}
 
+	if DaemonIsLinux.Condition() {
+		stringsToCheck = append(stringsToCheck, "Runtimes:", "Default Runtime: default")
+	}
+
 	if utils.ExperimentalBuild() {
 		stringsToCheck = append(stringsToCheck, "Experimental: true")
 	}
diff --git a/libcontainerd/container_linux.go b/libcontainerd/container_linux.go
index 00f86f9a81..52214167f5 100644
--- a/libcontainerd/container_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainerd/container_linux.go
@@ -21,7 +21,27 @@ type container struct {
 
 	// Platform specific fields are below here.
 	pauseMonitor
-	oom bool
+	oom         bool
+	runtime     string
+	runtimeArgs []string
+}
+
+type runtime struct {
+	path string
+	args []string
+}
+
+// WithRuntime sets the runtime to be used for the created container
+func WithRuntime(path string, args []string) CreateOption {
+	return runtime{path, args}
+}
+
+func (rt runtime) Apply(p interface{}) error {
+	if pr, ok := p.(*container); ok {
+		pr.runtime = rt.path
+		pr.runtimeArgs = rt.args
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (ctr *container) clean() error {
@@ -84,6 +104,8 @@ func (ctr *container) start() error {
 		Stderr:     ctr.fifo(syscall.Stderr),
 		// check to see if we are running in ramdisk to disable pivot root
 		NoPivotRoot: os.Getenv("DOCKER_RAMDISK") != "",
+		Runtime:     ctr.runtime,
+		RuntimeArgs: ctr.runtimeArgs,
 	}
 	ctr.client.appendContainer(ctr)
 
diff --git a/libcontainerd/remote_linux.go b/libcontainerd/remote_linux.go
index 3ef40674ac..5f4e812cfb 100644
--- a/libcontainerd/remote_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainerd/remote_linux.go
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ type remote struct {
 	clients       []*client
 	eventTsPath   string
 	pastEvents    map[string]*containerd.Event
+	runtime       string
 	runtimeArgs   []string
 	daemonWaitCh  chan struct{}
 	liveRestore   bool
@@ -366,11 +367,14 @@ func (r *remote) runContainerdDaemon() error {
 	args := []string{
 		"-l", fmt.Sprintf("unix://%s", r.rpcAddr),
 		"--shim", "docker-containerd-shim",
-		"--runtime", "docker-runc",
 		"--metrics-interval=0",
 		"--start-timeout", "2m",
 		"--state-dir", filepath.Join(r.stateDir, containerdStateDir),
 	}
+	if r.runtime != "" {
+		args = append(args, "--runtime")
+		args = append(args, r.runtime)
+	}
 	if r.debugLog {
 		args = append(args, "--debug")
 	}
@@ -428,6 +432,22 @@ func (a rpcAddr) Apply(r Remote) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("WithRemoteAddr option not supported for this remote")
 }
 
+// WithRuntimePath sets the path of the runtime to be used as the
+// default by containerd
+func WithRuntimePath(rt string) RemoteOption {
+	return runtimePath(rt)
+}
+
+type runtimePath string
+
+func (rt runtimePath) Apply(r Remote) error {
+	if remote, ok := r.(*remote); ok {
+		remote.runtime = string(rt)
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("WithRuntime option not supported for this remote")
+}
+
 // WithRuntimeArgs sets the list of runtime args passed to containerd
 func WithRuntimeArgs(args []string) RemoteOption {
 	return runtimeArgs(args)
diff --git a/runconfig/opts/parse.go b/runconfig/opts/parse.go
index 77254e05f4..4f1b533d96 100644
--- a/runconfig/opts/parse.go
+++ b/runconfig/opts/parse.go
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ type ContainerOptions struct {
 	flHealthInterval    *time.Duration
 	flHealthTimeout     *time.Duration
 	flHealthRetries     *int
+	flRuntime           *string
 
 	Image string
 	Args  []string
@@ -189,6 +190,7 @@ func AddFlags(flags *pflag.FlagSet) *ContainerOptions {
 		flHealthInterval:    flags.Duration("health-interval", 0, "Time between running the check"),
 		flHealthTimeout:     flags.Duration("health-timeout", 0, "Maximum time to allow one check to run"),
 		flHealthRetries:     flags.Int("health-retries", 0, "Consecutive failures needed to report unhealthy"),
+		flRuntime:           flags.String("runtime", "", "Runtime to use for this container"),
 	}
 
 	flags.VarP(&copts.flAttach, "attach", "a", "Attach to STDIN, STDOUT or STDERR")
@@ -229,7 +231,6 @@ func AddFlags(flags *pflag.FlagSet) *ContainerOptions {
 // a HostConfig and returns them with the specified command.
 // If the specified args are not valid, it will return an error.
 func Parse(flags *pflag.FlagSet, copts *ContainerOptions) (*container.Config, *container.HostConfig, *networktypes.NetworkingConfig, error) {
-
 	var (
 		attachStdin  = copts.flAttach.Get("stdin")
 		attachStdout = copts.flAttach.Get("stdout")
@@ -564,6 +565,7 @@ func Parse(flags *pflag.FlagSet, copts *ContainerOptions) (*container.Config, *c
 		Resources:      resources,
 		Tmpfs:          tmpfs,
 		Sysctls:        copts.flSysctls.GetAll(),
+		Runtime:        *copts.flRuntime,
 	}
 
 	// When allocating stdin in attached mode, close stdin at client disconnect
diff --git a/runconfig/opts/runtime.go b/runconfig/opts/runtime.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8302eb1321
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runconfig/opts/runtime.go
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package opts
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/docker/engine-api/types"
+)
+
+// RuntimeOpt defines a map of Runtimes
+type RuntimeOpt struct {
+	name   string
+	values *map[string]types.Runtime
+}
+
+// NewNamedRuntimeOpt creates a new RuntimeOpt
+func NewNamedRuntimeOpt(name string, ref *map[string]types.Runtime) *RuntimeOpt {
+	if ref == nil {
+		ref = &map[string]types.Runtime{}
+	}
+	return &RuntimeOpt{name: name, values: ref}
+}
+
+// Name returns the name of the NamedListOpts in the configuration.
+func (o *RuntimeOpt) Name() string {
+	return o.name
+}
+
+// Set validates and updates the list of Runtimes
+func (o *RuntimeOpt) Set(val string) error {
+	parts := strings.SplitN(val, "=", 2)
+	if len(parts) != 2 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid runtime argument: %s", val)
+	}
+
+	parts[0] = strings.TrimSpace(parts[0])
+	parts[1] = strings.TrimSpace(parts[1])
+	if parts[0] == "" || parts[1] == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid runtime argument: %s", val)
+	}
+
+	parts[0] = strings.ToLower(parts[0])
+	if parts[0] == types.DefaultRuntimeName {
+		return fmt.Errorf("runtime name 'default' is reserved")
+	}
+
+	if _, ok := (*o.values)[parts[0]]; ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("runtime '%s' was already defined", parts[0])
+	}
+
+	(*o.values)[parts[0]] = types.Runtime{Path: parts[1]}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// String returns Runtime values as a string.
+func (o *RuntimeOpt) String() string {
+	var out []string
+	for k := range *o.values {
+		out = append(out, k)
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%v", out)
+}
+
+// GetMap returns a map of Runtimes (name: path)
+func (o *RuntimeOpt) GetMap() map[string]types.Runtime {
+	if o.values != nil {
+		return *o.values
+	}
+
+	return map[string]types.Runtime{}
+}