diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2a8f9181e6..999a0f9671 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 	libudev-dev \
 	mercurial \
 	net-tools \
+	pigz \
 	pkg-config \
 	protobuf-compiler \
 	protobuf-c-compiler \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.aarch64 b/Dockerfile.aarch64
index fde0c706fb..32bb26504a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.aarch64
+++ b/Dockerfile.aarch64
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 	libudev-dev \
 	mercurial \
 	net-tools \
+	pigz \
 	pkg-config \
 	protobuf-compiler \
 	protobuf-c-compiler \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.armhf b/Dockerfile.armhf
index b5a4d938a4..85266f9390 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.armhf
+++ b/Dockerfile.armhf
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 	libtool \
 	libudev-dev \
 	mercurial \
+	pigz \
 	pkg-config \
 	python-backports.ssl-match-hostname \
 	python-dev \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.e2e b/Dockerfile.e2e
index 4dec3515a7..6c96c033ab 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.e2e
+++ b/Dockerfile.e2e
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ RUN apk add --update \
     g++ \
     git \
     iptables \
+    pigz \
     tar \
     xz \
     && rm -rf /var/cache/apk/*
diff --git a/Dockerfile.ppc64le b/Dockerfile.ppc64le
index 106a3a6f37..15ee5f6d7a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.ppc64le
+++ b/Dockerfile.ppc64le
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 	libtool \
 	libudev-dev \
 	mercurial \
+	pigz \
 	pkg-config \
 	python-backports.ssl-match-hostname \
 	python-dev \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.s390x b/Dockerfile.s390x
index e2f81a5d7d..57b7784420 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.s390x
+++ b/Dockerfile.s390x
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
 	libtool \
 	libudev-dev \
 	mercurial \
+	pigz \
 	pkg-config \
 	python-backports.ssl-match-hostname \
 	python-dev \
diff --git a/Dockerfile.simple b/Dockerfile.simple
index d048d909cd..578bbb2196 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.simple
+++ b/Dockerfile.simple
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 		e2fsprogs \
 		iptables \
 		pkg-config \
+		pigz \
 		procps \
 		xfsprogs \
 		xz-utils \
diff --git a/pkg/archive/archive.go b/pkg/archive/archive.go
index a0c25937c8..5f7f562677 100644
--- a/pkg/archive/archive.go
+++ b/pkg/archive/archive.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"compress/bzip2"
 	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 
@@ -24,6 +26,17 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
+var unpigzPath string
+
+func init() {
+	if path, err := exec.LookPath("unpigz"); err != nil {
+		logrus.Debug("unpigz binary not found in PATH, falling back to go gzip library")
+	} else {
+		logrus.Debugf("Using unpigz binary found at path %s", path)
+		unpigzPath = path
+	}
+}
+
 type (
 	// Compression is the state represents if compressed or not.
 	Compression int
@@ -136,10 +149,34 @@ func DetectCompression(source []byte) Compression {
 	return Uncompressed
 }
 
-func xzDecompress(archive io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, <-chan struct{}, error) {
+func xzDecompress(ctx context.Context, archive io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	args := []string{"xz", "-d", "-c", "-q"}
 
-	return cmdStream(exec.Command(args[0], args[1:]...), archive)
+	return cmdStream(exec.CommandContext(ctx, args[0], args[1:]...), archive)
+}
+
+func gzDecompress(ctx context.Context, buf io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	if unpigzPath == "" {
+		return gzip.NewReader(buf)
+	}
+
+	disablePigzEnv := os.Getenv("MOBY_DISABLE_PIGZ")
+	if disablePigzEnv != "" {
+		if disablePigz, err := strconv.ParseBool(disablePigzEnv); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		} else if disablePigz {
+			return gzip.NewReader(buf)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return cmdStream(exec.CommandContext(ctx, unpigzPath, "-d", "-c"), buf)
+}
+
+func wrapReadCloser(readBuf io.ReadCloser, cancel context.CancelFunc) io.ReadCloser {
+	return ioutils.NewReadCloserWrapper(readBuf, func() error {
+		cancel()
+		return readBuf.Close()
+	})
 }
 
 // DecompressStream decompresses the archive and returns a ReaderCloser with the decompressed archive.
@@ -163,26 +200,29 @@ func DecompressStream(archive io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 		readBufWrapper := p.NewReadCloserWrapper(buf, buf)
 		return readBufWrapper, nil
 	case Gzip:
-		gzReader, err := gzip.NewReader(buf)
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+
+		gzReader, err := gzDecompress(ctx, buf)
 		if err != nil {
+			cancel()
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		readBufWrapper := p.NewReadCloserWrapper(buf, gzReader)
-		return readBufWrapper, nil
+		return wrapReadCloser(readBufWrapper, cancel), nil
 	case Bzip2:
 		bz2Reader := bzip2.NewReader(buf)
 		readBufWrapper := p.NewReadCloserWrapper(buf, bz2Reader)
 		return readBufWrapper, nil
 	case Xz:
-		xzReader, chdone, err := xzDecompress(buf)
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+
+		xzReader, err := xzDecompress(ctx, buf)
 		if err != nil {
+			cancel()
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		readBufWrapper := p.NewReadCloserWrapper(buf, xzReader)
-		return ioutils.NewReadCloserWrapper(readBufWrapper, func() error {
-			<-chdone
-			return readBufWrapper.Close()
-		}), nil
+		return wrapReadCloser(readBufWrapper, cancel), nil
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unsupported compression format %s", (&compression).Extension())
 	}
@@ -1163,8 +1203,7 @@ func remapIDs(idMappings *idtools.IDMappings, hdr *tar.Header) error {
 // cmdStream executes a command, and returns its stdout as a stream.
 // If the command fails to run or doesn't complete successfully, an error
 // will be returned, including anything written on stderr.
-func cmdStream(cmd *exec.Cmd, input io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, <-chan struct{}, error) {
-	chdone := make(chan struct{})
+func cmdStream(cmd *exec.Cmd, input io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	cmd.Stdin = input
 	pipeR, pipeW := io.Pipe()
 	cmd.Stdout = pipeW
@@ -1173,7 +1212,7 @@ func cmdStream(cmd *exec.Cmd, input io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, <-chan struct{},
 
 	// Run the command and return the pipe
 	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
-		return nil, nil, err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	// Copy stdout to the returned pipe
@@ -1183,10 +1222,9 @@ func cmdStream(cmd *exec.Cmd, input io.Reader) (io.ReadCloser, <-chan struct{},
 		} else {
 			pipeW.Close()
 		}
-		close(chdone)
 	}()
 
-	return pipeR, chdone, nil
+	return pipeR, nil
 }
 
 // NewTempArchive reads the content of src into a temporary file, and returns the contents
diff --git a/pkg/archive/archive_test.go b/pkg/archive/archive_test.go
index 989557c53c..0e94f41c6d 100644
--- a/pkg/archive/archive_test.go
+++ b/pkg/archive/archive_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package archive
 import (
 	"archive/tar"
 	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/idtools"
+	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/ioutils"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
@@ -87,7 +89,7 @@ func TestIsArchivePathTar(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func testDecompressStream(t *testing.T, ext, compressCommand string) {
+func testDecompressStream(t *testing.T, ext, compressCommand string) io.Reader {
 	cmd := exec.Command("sh", "-c",
 		fmt.Sprintf("touch /tmp/archive && %s /tmp/archive", compressCommand))
 	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
@@ -111,6 +113,8 @@ func testDecompressStream(t *testing.T, ext, compressCommand string) {
 	if err = r.Close(); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to close the decompressed stream: %v ", err)
 	}
+
+	return r
 }
 
 func TestDecompressStreamGzip(t *testing.T) {
@@ -206,7 +210,7 @@ func TestExtensionXz(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestCmdStreamLargeStderr(t *testing.T) {
 	cmd := exec.Command("sh", "-c", "dd if=/dev/zero bs=1k count=1000 of=/dev/stderr; echo hello")
-	out, _, err := cmdStream(cmd, nil)
+	out, err := cmdStream(cmd, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to start command: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -231,7 +235,7 @@ func TestCmdStreamBad(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Skip("Failing on Windows CI machines")
 	}
 	badCmd := exec.Command("sh", "-c", "echo hello; echo >&2 error couldn\\'t reverse the phase pulser; exit 1")
-	out, _, err := cmdStream(badCmd, nil)
+	out, err := cmdStream(badCmd, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to start command: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -246,7 +250,7 @@ func TestCmdStreamBad(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestCmdStreamGood(t *testing.T) {
 	cmd := exec.Command("sh", "-c", "echo hello; exit 0")
-	out, _, err := cmdStream(cmd, nil)
+	out, err := cmdStream(cmd, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -1318,3 +1322,38 @@ func readFileFromArchive(t *testing.T, archive io.ReadCloser, name string, expec
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 	return string(content)
 }
+
+func TestDisablePigz(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := exec.LookPath("unpigz")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Log("Test will not check full path when Pigz not installed")
+	}
+
+	os.Setenv("MOBY_DISABLE_PIGZ", "true")
+	defer os.Unsetenv("MOBY_DISABLE_PIGZ")
+
+	r := testDecompressStream(t, "gz", "gzip -f")
+	// For the bufio pool
+	outsideReaderCloserWrapper := r.(*ioutils.ReadCloserWrapper)
+	// For the context canceller
+	contextReaderCloserWrapper := outsideReaderCloserWrapper.Reader.(*ioutils.ReadCloserWrapper)
+
+	assert.IsType(t, &gzip.Reader{}, contextReaderCloserWrapper.Reader)
+}
+
+func TestPigz(t *testing.T) {
+	r := testDecompressStream(t, "gz", "gzip -f")
+	// For the bufio pool
+	outsideReaderCloserWrapper := r.(*ioutils.ReadCloserWrapper)
+	// For the context canceller
+	contextReaderCloserWrapper := outsideReaderCloserWrapper.Reader.(*ioutils.ReadCloserWrapper)
+
+	_, err := exec.LookPath("unpigz")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Log("Tested whether Pigz is used, as it installed")
+		assert.IsType(t, &io.PipeReader{}, contextReaderCloserWrapper.Reader)
+	} else {
+		t.Log("Tested whether Pigz is not used, as it not installed")
+		assert.IsType(t, &gzip.Reader{}, contextReaderCloserWrapper.Reader)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/ioutils/readers.go b/pkg/ioutils/readers.go
index 63f3c07f46..168fa1d2d0 100644
--- a/pkg/ioutils/readers.go
+++ b/pkg/ioutils/readers.go
@@ -8,18 +8,22 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
 )
 
-type readCloserWrapper struct {
+// ReadCloserWrapper wraps an io.Reader, and implements an io.ReadCloser
+// It calls the given callback function when closed. It should be constructed
+// with NewReadCloserWrapper
+type ReadCloserWrapper struct {
 	io.Reader
 	closer func() error
 }
 
-func (r *readCloserWrapper) Close() error {
+// Close calls back the passed closer function
+func (r *ReadCloserWrapper) Close() error {
 	return r.closer()
 }
 
 // NewReadCloserWrapper returns a new io.ReadCloser.
 func NewReadCloserWrapper(r io.Reader, closer func() error) io.ReadCloser {
-	return &readCloserWrapper{
+	return &ReadCloserWrapper{
 		Reader: r,
 		closer: closer,
 	}