diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ef21e10f9cb..0f331139416 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 - Deprecated `WaitStrategy` and implementations in favour of classes with same names in `org.testcontainers.containers.strategy` ([\#600](https://github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-java/pull/600))
 - Added `ContainerState` interface representing the state of a started container ([\#600](https://github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-java/pull/600))
 - Added `WaitStrategyTarget` interface which is the target of the new `WaitStrategy` ([\#600](https://github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-java/pull/600))
+- Added `DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy` that is based on Docker's built-in [healthcheck](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#healthcheck) ([\#618](https://github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-java/pull/618)).
 
 ## [1.6.0] - 2018-01-28
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/ContainerState.java b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/ContainerState.java
index 842a1cb6bde..4fc46c64989 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/ContainerState.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/ContainerState.java
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 
 public interface ContainerState {
 
+    String STATE_HEALTHY = "healthy";
+
     /**
      * Get the IP address that this container may be reached on (may not be the local machine).
      *
@@ -27,14 +29,41 @@ default String getContainerIpAddress() {
     /**
      * @return is the container currently running?
      */
-    default Boolean isRunning() {
+    default boolean isRunning() {
+        if (getContainerId() == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        try {
+            Boolean running = getCurrentContainerInfo().getState().getRunning();
+            return Boolean.TRUE.equals(running);
+        } catch (DockerException e) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return has the container health state 'healthy'?
+     */
+    default boolean isHealthy() {
+        if (getContainerId() == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
         try {
-            return getContainerId() != null && DockerClientFactory.instance().client().inspectContainerCmd(getContainerId()).exec().getState().getRunning();
+            InspectContainerResponse inspectContainerResponse = getCurrentContainerInfo();
+            String healthStatus = inspectContainerResponse.getState().getHealth().getStatus();
+
+            return healthStatus.equals(STATE_HEALTHY);
         } catch (DockerException e) {
             return false;
         }
     }
 
+    default InspectContainerResponse getCurrentContainerInfo() {
+        return DockerClientFactory.instance().client().inspectContainerCmd(getContainerId()).exec();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Get the actual mapped port for a first port exposed by the container.
      *
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy.java b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f2fa797327b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy.java
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers.wait.strategy;
+
+import org.rnorth.ducttape.TimeoutException;
+import org.rnorth.ducttape.unreliables.Unreliables;
+import org.testcontainers.containers.ContainerLaunchException;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+/**
+ * Wait strategy leveraging Docker's built-in healthcheck mechanism.
+ *
+ * @see <a href="https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#healthcheck">https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#healthcheck</a>
+ */
+public class DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy extends AbstractWaitStrategy {
+
+    @Override
+    protected void waitUntilReady() {
+
+        try {
+            Unreliables.retryUntilTrue((int) startupTimeout.getSeconds(), TimeUnit.SECONDS, waitStrategyTarget::isHealthy);
+        } catch (TimeoutException e) {
+            throw new ContainerLaunchException("Timed out waiting for container to become healthy");
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/Wait.java b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/Wait.java
index 789927060b3..e839a11d91f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/Wait.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/Wait.java
@@ -61,4 +61,13 @@ public static HttpWaitStrategy forHttps(String path) {
     public static LogMessageWaitStrategy forLogMessage(String regex, int times) {
         return new LogMessageWaitStrategy().withRegEx(regex).withTimes(times);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Convenience method to return a WaitStrategy leveraging Docker's built-in healthcheck.
+     *
+     * @return DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy
+     */
+    public static DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy forHealthcheck() {
+        return new DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategy();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategyTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategyTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d867233f5d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/containers/wait/strategy/DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategyTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers.wait.strategy;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.testcontainers.containers.ContainerLaunchException;
+import org.testcontainers.containers.GenericContainer;
+import org.testcontainers.images.builder.ImageFromDockerfile;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+
+import static org.rnorth.visibleassertions.VisibleAssertions.assertThrows;
+
+public class DockerHealthcheckWaitStrategyTest {
+
+    private GenericContainer container;
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() {
+        // Using a Dockerfile here, since Dockerfile builder DSL doesn't support HEALTHCHECK
+        container = new GenericContainer(new ImageFromDockerfile()
+            .withFileFromClasspath("write_file_and_loop.sh", "health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/write_file_and_loop.sh")
+            .withFileFromClasspath("Dockerfile", "health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/Dockerfile"))
+            .waitingFor(Wait.forHealthcheck().withStartupTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(3)));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void startsOnceHealthy() {
+        container.start();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void containerStartFailsIfContainerIsUnhealthy() {
+        container.withCommand("tail", "-f", "/dev/null");
+        assertThrows("Container launch fails when unhealthy", ContainerLaunchException.class, container::start);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/Dockerfile b/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ddb0f82bce7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+FROM alpine:3.7
+
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=1s CMD test -e /testfile
+
+COPY write_file_and_loop.sh write_file_and_loop.sh
+RUN chmod +x write_file_and_loop.sh
+
+CMD ["/write_file_and_loop.sh"]
diff --git a/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/write_file_and_loop.sh b/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/write_file_and_loop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..a102129394b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/resources/health-wait-strategy-dockerfile/write_file_and_loop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/ash
+
+echo sleeping
+sleep 2
+echo writing file
+touch /testfile
+
+while true; do sleep 1; done
diff --git a/docs/usage/options.md b/docs/usage/options.md
index 83211cc8f64..232cedb3780 100644
--- a/docs/usage/options.md
+++ b/docs/usage/options.md
@@ -109,6 +109,14 @@ public static GenericContainer elasticsearch =
                			 .usingTls());
  ```
 
+If the used image supports Docker's [Healthcheck](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#healthcheck) feature, you can directly leverage the `healthy` state of the container as your wait condition:
+```java
+@ClassRule2.32.3
+public static GenericContainer container =
+    new GenericContainer("image-with-healthcheck:4.2")
+               .waitingFor(Wait.forHealthcheck());
+```
+
 For futher options, check out the `Wait` convenience class, or the various subclasses of `WaitStrategy`. If none of these options
 meet your requirements, you can create your own subclass of `AbstractWaitStrategy` with an appropriate wait
 mechanism in `waitUntilReady()`. The `GenericContainer.waitingFor()` method accepts any valid `WaitStrategy`.