diff --git a/python-package/xgboost/core.py b/python-package/xgboost/core.py
index 8b5ec7033..724918c51 100644
--- a/python-package/xgboost/core.py
+++ b/python-package/xgboost/core.py
@@ -988,7 +988,8 @@ class Booster(object):
         return self.eval_set([(data, name)], iteration)
 
     def predict(self, data, output_margin=False, ntree_limit=0, pred_leaf=False,
-                pred_contribs=False, approx_contribs=False, pred_interactions=False):
+                pred_contribs=False, approx_contribs=False, pred_interactions=False,
+                validate_features=True):
         """
         Predict with data.
 
@@ -1030,6 +1031,10 @@ class Booster(object):
             pred_contribs), and the sum of the entire matrix equals the raw untransformed margin
             value of the prediction. Note the last row and column correspond to the bias term.
 
+        validate_features : bool
+            When this is True, validate that the Booster's and data's feature_names are identical.
+            Otherwise, it is assumed that the feature_names are the same.
+
         Returns
         -------
         prediction : numpy array
@@ -1046,7 +1051,8 @@ class Booster(object):
         if pred_interactions:
             option_mask |= 0x10
 
-        self._validate_features(data)
+        if validate_features:
+            self._validate_features(data)
 
         length = c_bst_ulong()
         preds = ctypes.POINTER(ctypes.c_float)()