diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 411e274d..fbca84e4 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -230,3 +230,4 @@ that much better:
  * Amit Lichtenberg (https://github.com/amitlicht)
  * Lars Butler (https://github.com/larsbutler)
  * George Macon (https://github.com/gmacon)
+ * Ashley Whetter (https://github.com/AWhetter)
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 5809314c..37720431 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Changes in 0.10.2
 =================
 - Allow shard key to point to a field in an embedded document. #551
 - Allow arbirary metadata in fields. #1129
+- ReferenceFields now support abstract document types. #837
 
 Changes in 0.10.1
 =======================
diff --git a/mongoengine/fields.py b/mongoengine/fields.py
index ad3c468b..3887fd84 100644
--- a/mongoengine/fields.py
+++ b/mongoengine/fields.py
@@ -895,6 +895,10 @@ class ReferenceField(BaseField):
           or as the :class:`~pymongo.objectid.ObjectId`.id .
         :param reverse_delete_rule: Determines what to do when the referring
           object is deleted
+
+        .. note ::
+            A reference to an abstract document type is always stored as a
+            :class:`~pymongo.dbref.DBRef`, regardless of the value of `dbref`.
         """
         if not isinstance(document_type, basestring):
             if not issubclass(document_type, (Document, basestring)):
@@ -927,9 +931,14 @@ class ReferenceField(BaseField):
         self._auto_dereference = instance._fields[self.name]._auto_dereference
         # Dereference DBRefs
         if self._auto_dereference and isinstance(value, DBRef):
-            value = self.document_type._get_db().dereference(value)
+            if hasattr(value, 'cls'):
+                # Dereference using the class type specified in the reference
+                cls = get_document(value.cls)
+            else:
+                cls = self.document_type
+            value = cls._get_db().dereference(value)
             if value is not None:
-                instance._data[self.name] = self.document_type._from_son(value)
+                instance._data[self.name] = cls._from_son(value)
 
         return super(ReferenceField, self).__get__(instance, owner)
 
@@ -939,21 +948,29 @@ class ReferenceField(BaseField):
                 return document.id
             return document
 
-        id_field_name = self.document_type._meta['id_field']
-        id_field = self.document_type._fields[id_field_name]
-
         if isinstance(document, Document):
             # We need the id from the saved object to create the DBRef
             id_ = document.pk
             if id_ is None:
                 self.error('You can only reference documents once they have'
                            ' been saved to the database')
+
+            # Use the attributes from the document instance, so that they
+            # override the attributes of this field's document type
+            cls = document
         else:
             id_ = document
+            cls = self.document_type
+
+        id_field_name = cls._meta['id_field']
+        id_field = cls._fields[id_field_name]
 
         id_ = id_field.to_mongo(id_)
-        if self.dbref:
-            collection = self.document_type._get_collection_name()
+        if self.document_type._meta.get('abstract'):
+            collection = cls._get_collection_name()
+            return DBRef(collection, id_, cls=cls._class_name)
+        elif self.dbref:
+            collection = cls._get_collection_name()
             return DBRef(collection, id_)
 
         return id_
@@ -982,6 +999,14 @@ class ReferenceField(BaseField):
             self.error('You can only reference documents once they have been '
                        'saved to the database')
 
+        if self.document_type._meta.get('abstract') and \
+                not isinstance(value, self.document_type):
+            self.error('%s is not an instance of abstract reference'
+                    ' type %s' % (value._class_name,
+                        self.document_type._class_name)
+                    )
+
+
     def lookup_member(self, member_name):
         return self.document_type._fields.get(member_name)
 
diff --git a/tests/fields/fields.py b/tests/fields/fields.py
index 7ef298fc..15daecb9 100644
--- a/tests/fields/fields.py
+++ b/tests/fields/fields.py
@@ -2281,6 +2281,81 @@ class FieldTest(unittest.TestCase):
         Member.drop_collection()
         BlogPost.drop_collection()
 
+    def test_reference_class_with_abstract_parent(self):
+        """Ensure that a class with an abstract parent can be referenced.
+        """
+        class Sibling(Document):
+            name = StringField()
+            meta = {"abstract": True}
+
+        class Sister(Sibling):
+            pass
+
+        class Brother(Sibling):
+            sibling = ReferenceField(Sibling)
+
+        Sister.drop_collection()
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+
+        sister = Sister(name="Alice")
+        sister.save()
+        brother = Brother(name="Bob", sibling=sister)
+        brother.save()
+
+        self.assertEquals(Brother.objects[0].sibling.name, sister.name)
+
+        Sister.drop_collection()
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+
+    def test_reference_abstract_class(self):
+        """Ensure that an abstract class instance cannot be used in the
+        reference of that abstract class.
+        """
+        class Sibling(Document):
+            name = StringField()
+            meta = {"abstract": True}
+
+        class Sister(Sibling):
+            pass
+
+        class Brother(Sibling):
+            sibling = ReferenceField(Sibling)
+
+        Sister.drop_collection()
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+
+        sister = Sibling(name="Alice")
+        brother = Brother(name="Bob", sibling=sister)
+        self.assertRaises(ValidationError, brother.save)
+
+        Sister.drop_collection()
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+
+    def test_abstract_reference_base_type(self):
+        """Ensure that an an abstract reference fails validation when given a
+        Document that does not inherit from the abstract type.
+        """
+        class Sibling(Document):
+            name = StringField()
+            meta = {"abstract": True}
+
+        class Brother(Sibling):
+            sibling = ReferenceField(Sibling)
+
+        class Mother(Document):
+            name = StringField()
+
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+        Mother.drop_collection()
+
+        mother = Mother(name="Carol")
+        mother.save()
+        brother = Brother(name="Bob", sibling=mother)
+        self.assertRaises(ValidationError, brother.save)
+
+        Brother.drop_collection()
+        Mother.drop_collection()
+
     def test_generic_reference(self):
         """Ensure that a GenericReferenceField properly dereferences items.
         """