diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b1cbb3b..409c052 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ download(url, [ output = tempname() ];
     [ verbose = false, ]
     [ debug = <none>, ]
     [ downloader = <default>, ]
+    [ username = <none>, ]
 ) -> output
 ```
 - `url        :: AbstractString`
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ download(url, [ output = tempname() ];
 - `verbose    :: Bool`
 - `debug      :: (type, message) --> Any`
 - `downloader :: Downloader`
+- `username   :: AbstractString`
 
 Download a file from the given url, saving it to `output` or if not specified, a
 temporary path. The `output` can also be an `IO` handle, in which case the body
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ request(url;
     [ debug = <none>, ]
     [ throw = true, ]
     [ downloader = <default>, ]
+    [ username = <none>, ]
 ) -> Union{Response, RequestError}
 ```
 - `url        :: AbstractString`
@@ -110,6 +113,7 @@ request(url;
 - `debug      :: (type, message) --> Any`
 - `throw      :: Bool`
 - `downloader :: Downloader`
+- `username   :: AbstractString`
 
 Make a request to the given url, returning a `Response` object capturing the
 status, headers and other information about the response. The body of the
diff --git a/src/Curl/Curl.jl b/src/Curl/Curl.jl
index fa76379..4d54a84 100644
--- a/src/Curl/Curl.jl
+++ b/src/Curl/Curl.jl
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ export
         set_url,
         set_method,
         set_verbose,
+        set_username,
         set_debug,
         set_body,
         set_upload_size,
diff --git a/src/Curl/Easy.jl b/src/Curl/Easy.jl
index cf63f50..a490251 100644
--- a/src/Curl/Easy.jl
+++ b/src/Curl/Easy.jl
@@ -135,6 +135,10 @@ function set_verbose(easy::Easy, verbose::Bool)
     setopt(easy, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, verbose)
 end
 
+function set_username(easy::Easy, username::AbstractString)
+    setopt(easy, CURLOPT_USERNAME, username)
+end
+
 function set_debug(easy::Easy, debug::Function)
     hasmethod(debug, Tuple{String,String}) ||
         throw(ArgumentError("debug callback must take (::String, ::String)"))
diff --git a/src/Downloads.jl b/src/Downloads.jl
index 216aa84..a1f0466 100644
--- a/src/Downloads.jl
+++ b/src/Downloads.jl
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ end
         [ verbose = false, ]
         [ debug = <none>, ]
         [ downloader = <default>, ]
+        [ username = <none>, ]
     ) -> output
 
         url        :: AbstractString
@@ -189,6 +190,7 @@ end
         verbose    :: Bool
         debug      :: (type, message) --> Any
         downloader :: Downloader
+        username   :: AbstractString
 
 Download a file from the given url, saving it to `output` or if not specified, a
 temporary path. The `output` can also be an `IO` handle, in which case the body
@@ -253,6 +255,7 @@ function download(
     verbose    :: Bool = false,
     debug      :: Union{Function, Nothing} = nothing,
     downloader :: Union{Downloader, Nothing} = nothing,
+    username   :: Union{AbstractString, Nothing} = nothing,
 ) :: ArgWrite
     arg_write(output) do output
         response = request(
@@ -265,6 +268,7 @@ function download(
             verbose = verbose,
             debug = debug,
             downloader = downloader,
+            username = username,
         )::Response
         status_ok(response) && return output
         throw(RequestError(url, Curl.CURLE_OK, "", response))
@@ -285,6 +289,7 @@ end
         [ debug = <none>, ]
         [ throw = true, ]
         [ downloader = <default>, ]
+        [ username = <none>, ]
     ) -> Union{Response, RequestError}
 
         url        :: AbstractString
@@ -298,6 +303,7 @@ end
         debug      :: (type, message) --> Any
         throw      :: Bool
         downloader :: Downloader
+        username   :: AbstractString
 
 Make a request to the given url, returning a `Response` object capturing the
 status, headers and other information about the response. The body of the
@@ -329,6 +335,7 @@ function request(
     debug      :: Union{Function, Nothing} = nothing,
     throw      :: Bool = true,
     downloader :: Union{Downloader, Nothing} = nothing,
+    username   :: Union{AbstractString, Nothing} = nothing,
 ) :: Union{Response, RequestError}
     if downloader === nothing
         lock(DOWNLOAD_LOCK) do
@@ -359,6 +366,10 @@ function request(
                 set_debug(easy, debug)
                 add_headers(easy, headers)
 
+                if !isnothing(username)
+                    set_username(easy, username)
+                end
+
                 # libcurl does not set the default header reliably so set it
                 # explicitly unless user has specified it, xref
                 # https://github.com/JuliaLang/Pkg.jl/pull/2357