diff --git a/django/contrib/admin/options.py b/django/contrib/admin/options.py
index f01edbcb28..ba48ded09a 100644
--- a/django/contrib/admin/options.py
+++ b/django/contrib/admin/options.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ class BaseModelAdmin(object):
     """Functionality common to both ModelAdmin and InlineAdmin."""
     raw_id_fields = ()
     fields = None
+    exclude = None
     fieldsets = None
     form = forms.ModelForm
     filter_vertical = ()
@@ -262,9 +263,14 @@ class ModelAdmin(BaseModelAdmin):
             fields = flatten_fieldsets(self.declared_fieldsets)
         else:
             fields = None
+        if self.exclude is None:
+            exclude = []
+        else:
+            exclude = self.exclude
         defaults = {
             "form": self.form,
             "fields": fields,
+            "exclude": exclude + kwargs.get("exclude", []),
             "formfield_callback": self.formfield_for_dbfield,
         }
         defaults.update(kwargs)
@@ -780,11 +786,16 @@ class InlineModelAdmin(BaseModelAdmin):
             fields = flatten_fieldsets(self.declared_fieldsets)
         else:
             fields = None
+        if self.exclude is None:
+            exclude = []
+        else:
+            exclude = self.exclude
         defaults = {
             "form": self.form,
             "formset": self.formset,
             "fk_name": self.fk_name,
             "fields": fields,
+            "exclude": exclude + kwargs.get("exclude", []),
             "formfield_callback": self.formfield_for_dbfield,
             "extra": self.extra,
             "max_num": self.max_num,
diff --git a/docs/ref/contrib/admin.txt b/docs/ref/contrib/admin.txt
index ceb33bc40a..da2f8a7e53 100644
--- a/docs/ref/contrib/admin.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/contrib/admin.txt
@@ -181,6 +181,32 @@ displayed, sequentially, in the form.
     dictionary key that is within the ``fieldsets`` option, as described in
     the previous section.
 
+``exclude``
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+This attribute, if given, should be a list of field names to exclude from the
+form.
+
+For example, let's consider the following model::
+
+    class Author(models.Model):
+        name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
+        title = models.CharField(max_length=3)
+        birth_date = models.DateField(blank=True, null=True)
+
+If you want a form for the ``Author`` model that includes only the ``name``
+and ``title`` fields, you would specify ``fields`` or ``exclude`` like this::
+    
+    class AuthorAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
+        fields = ('name', 'title')
+    
+    class AuthorAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
+        exclude = ('birth_date',)
+
+Since the Author model only has three fields, ``name``, ``title``, and
+``birth_date``, the forms resulting from the above declarations will contain
+exactly the same fields.
+
 ``filter_horizontal``
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/model_formsets/models.py b/tests/modeltests/model_formsets/models.py
index b215e40af8..3c97931595 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/model_formsets/models.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/model_formsets/models.py
@@ -701,5 +701,4 @@ False
 >>> formset.is_valid()
 True
 
-
 """}
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/modeladmin/models.py b/tests/regressiontests/modeladmin/models.py
index ca97a0cb51..f6fda40cf4 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/modeladmin/models.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/modeladmin/models.py
@@ -116,6 +116,23 @@ displayed because you forgot to add it to fields/fielsets
 ['name']
 
 
+# Using `exclude`.
+
+>>> class BandAdmin(ModelAdmin): 
+...     exclude = ['bio'] 
+>>> ma = BandAdmin(Band, site) 
+>>> ma.get_form(request).base_fields.keys() 
+['name', 'sign_date']
+ 
+# Using `fields` and `exclude`.
+
+>>> class BandAdmin(ModelAdmin): 
+...     fields = ['name', 'bio'] 
+...     exclude = ['bio'] 
+>>> ma = BandAdmin(Band, site) 
+>>> ma.get_form(request).base_fields.keys() 
+['name']
+
 If we specify a form, it should use it allowing custom validation to work
 properly. This won't, however, break any of the admin widgets or media.