diff --git a/include/benchmark/reporter.h b/include/benchmark/reporter.h
index d23ab657..f2a8dc25 100644
--- a/include/benchmark/reporter.h
+++ b/include/benchmark/reporter.h
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ class BenchmarkReporter {
 
     // The number of chars in the longest benchmark name.
     size_t name_field_width;
+    // The time unit for displayed execution time.
+    std::string time_unit;
   };
 
   struct Run {
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ protected:
   virtual void PrintRunData(const Run& report);
 
   size_t name_field_width_;
+  std::string time_unit_;
 };
 
 class JSONReporter : public BenchmarkReporter {
diff --git a/src/benchmark.cc b/src/benchmark.cc
index 08b180e3..dd372021 100644
--- a/src/benchmark.cc
+++ b/src/benchmark.cc
@@ -64,6 +64,10 @@ DEFINE_int32(benchmark_repetitions, 1,
              "The number of runs of each benchmark. If greater than 1, the "
              "mean and standard deviation of the runs will be reported.");
 
+DEFINE_string(benchmark_time_unit, "ns",
+              "The time unit to use for console output. Valid values are "
+              "'ns', or 'ms'.");
+
 DEFINE_string(benchmark_format, "tabular",
               "The format to use for console output. Valid values are "
               "'tabular', 'json', or 'csv'.");
@@ -779,7 +783,7 @@ void PrintBenchmarkList() {
   }
 }
 
-void RunMatchingBenchmarks(const std::string& spec,
+void RunMatchingBenchmarks(const std::string& spec, const std::string& timeUnit,
                            BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
   CHECK(reporter != nullptr);
   if (spec.empty()) return;
@@ -804,6 +808,7 @@ void RunMatchingBenchmarks(const std::string& spec,
 
   context.cpu_scaling_enabled = CpuScalingEnabled();
   context.name_field_width = name_field_width;
+  context.time_unit = timeUnit;
 
   if (reporter->ReportContext(context)) {
     for (const auto& benchmark : benchmarks) {
@@ -838,6 +843,7 @@ void RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
     internal::PrintBenchmarkList();
     return;
   }
+  std::string timeUnit = FLAGS_benchmark_time_unit;
   std::string spec = FLAGS_benchmark_filter;
   if (spec.empty() || spec == "all")
     spec = ".";  // Regexp that matches all benchmarks
@@ -847,7 +853,7 @@ void RunSpecifiedBenchmarks(BenchmarkReporter* reporter) {
     default_reporter = internal::GetDefaultReporter();
     reporter = default_reporter.get();
   }
-  internal::RunMatchingBenchmarks(spec, reporter);
+  internal::RunMatchingBenchmarks(spec, timeUnit, reporter);
   reporter->Finalize();
 }
 
@@ -860,6 +866,7 @@ void PrintUsageAndExit() {
           "          [--benchmark_filter=<regex>]\n"
           "          [--benchmark_min_time=<min_time>]\n"
           "          [--benchmark_repetitions=<num_repetitions>]\n"
+          "          [--benchmark_time_unit=<ns|ms>]\n"
           "          [--benchmark_format=<tabular|json|csv>]\n"
           "          [--color_print={true|false}]\n"
           "          [--v=<verbosity>]\n");
@@ -878,6 +885,8 @@ void ParseCommandLineFlags(int* argc, char** argv) {
                         &FLAGS_benchmark_min_time) ||
         ParseInt32Flag(argv[i], "benchmark_repetitions",
                        &FLAGS_benchmark_repetitions) ||
+        ParseStringFlag(argv[i], "benchmark_time_unit",
+                        &FLAGS_benchmark_time_unit) ||
         ParseStringFlag(argv[i], "benchmark_format",
                         &FLAGS_benchmark_format) ||
         ParseBoolFlag(argv[i], "color_print",
@@ -891,6 +900,12 @@ void ParseCommandLineFlags(int* argc, char** argv) {
       PrintUsageAndExit();
     }
   }
+
+  if (FLAGS_benchmark_time_unit != "ns" &&
+      FLAGS_benchmark_time_unit != "ms") {
+    PrintUsageAndExit();
+  }
+
   if (FLAGS_benchmark_format != "tabular" &&
       FLAGS_benchmark_format != "json" &&
       FLAGS_benchmark_format != "csv") {
diff --git a/src/console_reporter.cc b/src/console_reporter.cc
index 092936d5..6af51571 100644
--- a/src/console_reporter.cc
+++ b/src/console_reporter.cc
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ namespace benchmark {
 
 bool ConsoleReporter::ReportContext(const Context& context) {
   name_field_width_ = context.name_field_width;
+  time_unit_ = context.time_unit;
 
   std::cerr << "Run on (" << context.num_cpus << " X " << context.mhz_per_cpu
             << " MHz CPU " << ((context.num_cpus > 1) ? "s" : "") << ")\n";
@@ -46,9 +47,11 @@ bool ConsoleReporter::ReportContext(const Context& context) {
                "affected.\n";
 #endif
 
+  std::string timeLabel = "Time(" + time_unit_ + ")";
+  std::string cpuLabel = "CPU(" + time_unit_ + ")";
   int output_width = fprintf(stdout, "%-*s %10s %10s %10s\n",
                              static_cast<int>(name_field_width_), "Benchmark",
-                             "Time(ns)", "CPU(ns)", "Iterations");
+                             timeLabel.c_str(), cpuLabel.c_str(), "Iterations");
   std::cout << std::string(output_width - 1, '-') << "\n";
 
   return true;
@@ -92,7 +95,9 @@ void ConsoleReporter::PrintRunData(const Run& result) {
                    " items/s");
   }
 
-  double const multiplier = 1e9; // nano second multiplier
+  double const multiplier = time_unit_ == "ns" ? 1e9 : 1e3; // nano second or
+                                                            // millis multiplier
+
   ColorPrintf(COLOR_GREEN, "%-*s ",
               name_field_width_, result.benchmark_name.c_str());
   if (result.iterations == 0) {