diff --git a/docs/Doxyfile b/docs/Doxyfile
index 1b9d1297c5..24ece0d8db 100644
--- a/docs/Doxyfile
+++ b/docs/Doxyfile
@@ -18,3 +18,5 @@ ALIASES               += "endrst=\endverbatim"
 QUIET                  = YES
 WARNINGS               = YES
 WARN_IF_UNDOCUMENTED   = NO
+PREDEFINED             = DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS \
+                         PY_MAJOR_VERSION=3
diff --git a/docs/advanced/pycpp/numpy.rst b/docs/advanced/pycpp/numpy.rst
index 3d9c90cb42..aef7abe3d7 100644
--- a/docs/advanced/pycpp/numpy.rst
+++ b/docs/advanced/pycpp/numpy.rst
@@ -384,3 +384,45 @@ operation on the C++ side:
 
    py::array a = /* A NumPy array */;
    py::array b = a[py::make_tuple(0, py::ellipsis(), 0)];
+
+Memory view
+===========
+
+For a case when we simply want to provide a direct accessor to C/C++ buffer
+without a concrete class object, we can return a ``memoryview`` object. Suppose
+we wish to expose a ``memoryview`` for 2x4 uint8_t array, we can do the
+following:
+
+.. code-block:: cpp
+
+    const uint8_t buffer[] = {
+        0, 1, 2, 3,
+        4, 5, 6, 7
+    };
+    m.def("get_memoryview2d", []() {
+        return py::memoryview::from_buffer(
+            buffer,                                    // buffer pointer
+            { 2, 4 },                                  // shape (rows, cols)
+            { sizeof(uint8_t) * 4, sizeof(uint8_t) }   // strides in bytes
+        );
+    })
+
+This approach is meant for providing a ``memoryview`` for a C/C++ buffer not
+managed by Python. The user is responsible for managing the lifetime of the
+buffer. Using a ``memoryview`` created in this way after deleting the buffer in
+C++ side results in undefined behavior.
+
+We can also use ``memoryview::from_memory`` for a simple 1D contiguous buffer:
+
+.. code-block:: cpp
+
+    m.def("get_memoryview1d", []() {
+        return py::memoryview::from_memory(
+            buffer,               // buffer pointer
+            sizeof(uint8_t) * 8   // buffer size
+        );
+    })
+
+.. note::
+
+    ``memoryview::from_memory`` is not available in Python 2.
diff --git a/include/pybind11/buffer_info.h b/include/pybind11/buffer_info.h
index 0bf42880b7..8349a46b8b 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/buffer_info.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/buffer_info.h
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ struct buffer_info {
     explicit buffer_info(Py_buffer *view, bool ownview = true)
     : buffer_info(view->buf, view->itemsize, view->format, view->ndim,
             {view->shape, view->shape + view->ndim}, {view->strides, view->strides + view->ndim}, view->readonly) {
-        this->view = view;
+        this->m_view = view;
         this->ownview = ownview;
     }
 
@@ -73,16 +73,18 @@ struct buffer_info {
         ndim = rhs.ndim;
         shape = std::move(rhs.shape);
         strides = std::move(rhs.strides);
-        std::swap(view, rhs.view);
+        std::swap(m_view, rhs.m_view);
         std::swap(ownview, rhs.ownview);
         readonly = rhs.readonly;
         return *this;
     }
 
     ~buffer_info() {
-        if (view && ownview) { PyBuffer_Release(view); delete view; }
+        if (m_view && ownview) { PyBuffer_Release(m_view); delete m_view; }
     }
 
+    Py_buffer *view() const { return m_view; }
+    Py_buffer *&view() { return m_view; }
 private:
     struct private_ctr_tag { };
 
@@ -90,7 +92,7 @@ struct buffer_info {
                 detail::any_container<ssize_t> &&shape_in, detail::any_container<ssize_t> &&strides_in, bool readonly)
     : buffer_info(ptr, itemsize, format, ndim, std::move(shape_in), std::move(strides_in), readonly) { }
 
-    Py_buffer *view = nullptr;
+    Py_buffer *m_view = nullptr;
     bool ownview = false;
 };
 
diff --git a/include/pybind11/pytypes.h b/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
index 6e7666b878..5152f6804a 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
@@ -1336,35 +1336,139 @@ class buffer : public object {
 
 class memoryview : public object {
 public:
-    explicit memoryview(const buffer_info& info) {
-        static Py_buffer buf { };
-        // Py_buffer uses signed sizes, strides and shape!..
-        static std::vector<Py_ssize_t> py_strides { };
-        static std::vector<Py_ssize_t> py_shape { };
-        buf.buf = info.ptr;
-        buf.itemsize = info.itemsize;
-        buf.format = const_cast<char *>(info.format.c_str());
-        buf.ndim = (int) info.ndim;
-        buf.len = info.size;
-        py_strides.clear();
-        py_shape.clear();
-        for (size_t i = 0; i < (size_t) info.ndim; ++i) {
-            py_strides.push_back(info.strides[i]);
-            py_shape.push_back(info.shape[i]);
-        }
-        buf.strides = py_strides.data();
-        buf.shape = py_shape.data();
-        buf.suboffsets = nullptr;
-        buf.readonly = info.readonly;
-        buf.internal = nullptr;
+    PYBIND11_OBJECT_CVT(memoryview, object, PyMemoryView_Check, PyMemoryView_FromObject)
 
-        m_ptr = PyMemoryView_FromBuffer(&buf);
+    /** \rst
+        Creates ``memoryview`` from ``buffer_info``.
+
+        ``buffer_info`` must be created from ``buffer::request()``. Otherwise
+        throws an exception.
+
+        For creating a ``memoryview`` from objects that support buffer protocol,
+        use ``memoryview(const object& obj)`` instead of this constructor.
+     \endrst */
+    explicit memoryview(const buffer_info& info) {
+        if (!info.view())
+            pybind11_fail("Prohibited to create memoryview without Py_buffer");
+        // Note: PyMemoryView_FromBuffer never increments obj reference.
+        m_ptr = (info.view()->obj) ?
+            PyMemoryView_FromObject(info.view()->obj) :
+            PyMemoryView_FromBuffer(info.view());
         if (!m_ptr)
             pybind11_fail("Unable to create memoryview from buffer descriptor");
     }
 
-    PYBIND11_OBJECT_CVT(memoryview, object, PyMemoryView_Check, PyMemoryView_FromObject)
+    /** \rst
+        Creates ``memoryview`` from static buffer.
+
+        This method is meant for providing a ``memoryview`` for C/C++ buffer not
+        managed by Python. The caller is responsible for managing the lifetime
+        of ``ptr`` and ``format``, which MUST outlive the memoryview constructed
+        here.
+
+        See also: Python C API documentation for `PyMemoryView_FromBuffer`_.
+
+        .. _PyMemoryView_FromBuffer: https://docs.python.org/c-api/memoryview.html#c.PyMemoryView_FromBuffer
+
+        :param ptr: Pointer to the buffer.
+        :param itemsize: Byte size of an element.
+        :param format: Pointer to the null-terminated format string. For
+            homogeneous Buffers, this should be set to
+            ``format_descriptor<T>::value``.
+        :param shape: Shape of the tensor (1 entry per dimension).
+        :param strides: Number of bytes between adjacent entries (for each
+            per dimension).
+        :param readonly: Flag to indicate if the underlying storage may be
+            written to.
+     \endrst */
+    static memoryview from_buffer(
+        void *ptr, ssize_t itemsize, const char *format,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> shape,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> strides, bool readonly = false);
+
+    static memoryview from_buffer(
+        const void *ptr, ssize_t itemsize, const char *format,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> shape,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> strides) {
+        return memoryview::from_buffer(
+            const_cast<void*>(ptr), itemsize, format, shape, strides, true);
+    }
+
+    template<typename T>
+    static memoryview from_buffer(
+        T *ptr, detail::any_container<ssize_t> shape,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> strides, bool readonly = false) {
+        return memoryview::from_buffer(
+            reinterpret_cast<void*>(ptr), sizeof(T),
+            format_descriptor<T>::value, shape, strides, readonly);
+    }
+
+    template<typename T>
+    static memoryview from_buffer(
+        const T *ptr, detail::any_container<ssize_t> shape,
+        detail::any_container<ssize_t> strides) {
+        return memoryview::from_buffer(
+            const_cast<T*>(ptr), shape, strides, true);
+    }
+
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+    /** \rst
+        Creates ``memoryview`` from static memory.
+
+        This method is meant for providing a ``memoryview`` for C/C++ buffer not
+        managed by Python. The caller is responsible for managing the lifetime
+        of ``mem``, which MUST outlive the memoryview constructed here.
+
+        This method is not available in Python 2.
+
+        See also: Python C API documentation for `PyMemoryView_FromBuffer`_.
+
+        .. _PyMemoryView_FromMemory: https://docs.python.org/c-api/memoryview.html#c.PyMemoryView_FromMemory
+     \endrst */
+    static memoryview from_memory(void *mem, ssize_t size, bool readonly = false) {
+        PyObject* ptr = PyMemoryView_FromMemory(
+            reinterpret_cast<char*>(mem), size,
+            (readonly) ? PyBUF_READ : PyBUF_WRITE);
+        if (!ptr)
+            pybind11_fail("Could not allocate memoryview object!");
+        return memoryview(object(ptr, stolen_t{}));
+    }
+
+    static memoryview from_memory(const void *mem, ssize_t size) {
+        return memoryview::from_memory(const_cast<void*>(mem), size, true);
+    }
+#endif
 };
+
+#ifndef DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
+inline memoryview memoryview::from_buffer(
+    void *ptr, ssize_t itemsize, const char* format,
+    detail::any_container<ssize_t> shape,
+    detail::any_container<ssize_t> strides, bool readonly) {
+    size_t ndim = shape->size();
+    if (ndim != strides->size())
+        pybind11_fail("memoryview: shape length doesn't match strides length");
+    ssize_t size = ndim ? 1 : 0;
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < ndim; ++i)
+        size *= (*shape)[i];
+    Py_buffer view;
+    view.buf = ptr;
+    view.obj = nullptr;
+    view.len = size * itemsize;
+    view.readonly = static_cast<int>(readonly);
+    view.itemsize = itemsize;
+    view.format = const_cast<char*>(format);
+    view.ndim = static_cast<int>(ndim);
+    view.shape = shape->data();
+    view.strides = strides->data();
+    view.suboffsets = nullptr;
+    view.internal = nullptr;
+    PyObject* obj = PyMemoryView_FromBuffer(&view);
+    if (!obj)
+        throw error_already_set();
+    return memoryview(object(obj, stolen_t{}));
+}
+#endif  // DOXYGEN_SHOULD_SKIP_THIS
 /// @} pytypes
 
 /// \addtogroup python_builtins
diff --git a/tests/test_pytypes.cpp b/tests/test_pytypes.cpp
index f0d86d872c..9f7bc37dc6 100644
--- a/tests/test_pytypes.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_pytypes.cpp
@@ -318,4 +318,53 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(pytypes, m) {
     m.def("test_list_slicing", [](py::list a) {
         return a[py::slice(0, -1, 2)];
     });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_object", [](py::buffer b) {
+        return py::memoryview(b);
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_buffer_info", [](py::buffer b) {
+        return py::memoryview(b.request());
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_buffer", [](bool is_unsigned) {
+        static const int16_t si16[] = { 3, 1, 4, 1, 5 };
+        static const uint16_t ui16[] = { 2, 7, 1, 8 };
+        if (is_unsigned)
+            return py::memoryview::from_buffer(
+                ui16, { 4 }, { sizeof(uint16_t) });
+        else
+            return py::memoryview::from_buffer(
+                si16, { 5 }, { sizeof(int16_t) });
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_buffer_nativeformat", []() {
+        static const char* format = "@i";
+        static const int32_t arr[] = { 4, 7, 5 };
+        return py::memoryview::from_buffer(
+            arr, sizeof(int32_t), format, { 3 }, { sizeof(int32_t) });
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_buffer_empty_shape", []() {
+        static const char* buf = "";
+        return py::memoryview::from_buffer(buf, 1, "B", { }, { });
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_buffer_invalid_strides", []() {
+        static const char* buf = "\x02\x03\x04";
+        return py::memoryview::from_buffer(buf, 1, "B", { 3 }, { });
+    });
+
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_buffer_nullptr", []() {
+        return py::memoryview::from_buffer(
+            static_cast<void*>(nullptr), 1, "B", { }, { });
+    });
+
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+    m.def("test_memoryview_from_memory", []() {
+        const char* buf = "\xff\xe1\xab\x37";
+        return py::memoryview::from_memory(
+            buf, static_cast<ssize_t>(strlen(buf)));
+    });
+#endif
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_pytypes.py b/tests/test_pytypes.py
index 79bee87750..a8b653a114 100644
--- a/tests/test_pytypes.py
+++ b/tests/test_pytypes.py
@@ -278,3 +278,70 @@ def test_number_protocol():
 def test_list_slicing():
     li = list(range(100))
     assert li[::2] == m.test_list_slicing(li)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('method, args, fmt, expected_view', [
+    (m.test_memoryview_object, (b'red',), 'B', b'red'),
+    (m.test_memoryview_buffer_info, (b'green',), 'B', b'green'),
+    (m.test_memoryview_from_buffer, (False,), 'h', [3, 1, 4, 1, 5]),
+    (m.test_memoryview_from_buffer, (True,), 'H', [2, 7, 1, 8]),
+    (m.test_memoryview_from_buffer_nativeformat, (), '@i', [4, 7, 5]),
+])
+def test_memoryview(method, args, fmt, expected_view):
+    view = method(*args)
+    assert isinstance(view, memoryview)
+    assert view.format == fmt
+    if isinstance(expected_view, bytes) or sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        view_as_list = list(view)
+    else:
+        # Using max to pick non-zero byte (big-endian vs little-endian).
+        view_as_list = [max([ord(c) for c in s]) for s in view]
+    assert view_as_list == list(expected_view)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not hasattr(sys, 'getrefcount'),
+    reason='getrefcount is not available')
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('method', [
+    m.test_memoryview_object,
+    m.test_memoryview_buffer_info,
+])
+def test_memoryview_refcount(method):
+    buf = b'\x0a\x0b\x0c\x0d'
+    ref_before = sys.getrefcount(buf)
+    view = method(buf)
+    ref_after = sys.getrefcount(buf)
+    assert ref_before < ref_after
+    assert list(view) == list(buf)
+
+
+def test_memoryview_from_buffer_empty_shape():
+    view = m.test_memoryview_from_buffer_empty_shape()
+    assert isinstance(view, memoryview)
+    assert view.format == 'B'
+    if sys.version_info.major < 3:
+        # Python 2 behavior is weird, but Python 3 (the future) is fine.
+        assert bytes(view).startswith(b'<memory at ')
+    else:
+        assert bytes(view) == b''
+
+
+def test_test_memoryview_from_buffer_invalid_strides():
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        m.test_memoryview_from_buffer_invalid_strides()
+
+
+def test_test_memoryview_from_buffer_nullptr():
+    if sys.version_info.major < 3:
+        m.test_memoryview_from_buffer_nullptr()
+    else:
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+            m.test_memoryview_from_buffer_nullptr()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.version_info.major < 3, reason='API not available')
+def test_memoryview_from_memory():
+    view = m.test_memoryview_from_memory()
+    assert isinstance(view, memoryview)
+    assert view.format == 'B'
+    assert bytes(view) == b'\xff\xe1\xab\x37'