diff --git a/cmd/cmount/mount.go b/cmd/cmount/mount.go
index c87a5c515..325dfe175 100644
--- a/cmd/cmount/mount.go
+++ b/cmd/cmount/mount.go
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ func mountOptions(device string, mountpoint string) (options []string) {
 		"-o", "fsname=" + device,
 		"-o", "subtype=rclone",
 		"-o", fmt.Sprintf("max_readahead=%d", mountlib.MaxReadAhead),
+		"-o", fmt.Sprintf("attr_timeout=%g", mountlib.AttrTimeout.Seconds()),
 		// This causes FUSE to supply O_TRUNC with the Open
 		// call which is more efficient for cmount.  However
 		// it does not work with cgofuse on Windows with
diff --git a/cmd/mount/dir.go b/cmd/mount/dir.go
index 5f3600717..939935678 100644
--- a/cmd/mount/dir.go
+++ b/cmd/mount/dir.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 	"bazil.org/fuse"
 	fusefs "bazil.org/fuse/fs"
+	"github.com/ncw/rclone/cmd/mountlib"
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/fs/log"
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/vfs"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ var _ fusefs.Node = (*Dir)(nil)
 // Attr updates the attributes of a directory
 func (d *Dir) Attr(ctx context.Context, a *fuse.Attr) (err error) {
 	defer log.Trace(d, "")("attr=%+v, err=%v", a, &err)
+	a.Valid = mountlib.AttrTimeout
 	a.Gid = d.VFS().Opt.GID
 	a.Uid = d.VFS().Opt.UID
 	a.Mode = os.ModeDir | d.VFS().Opt.DirPerms
@@ -72,6 +74,7 @@ func (d *Dir) Lookup(ctx context.Context, req *fuse.LookupRequest, resp *fuse.Lo
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, translateError(err)
 	}
+	resp.EntryValid = mountlib.AttrTimeout
 	switch x := mnode.(type) {
 	case *vfs.File:
 		return &File{x}, nil
diff --git a/cmd/mount/file.go b/cmd/mount/file.go
index f4a10f789..7632203fe 100644
--- a/cmd/mount/file.go
+++ b/cmd/mount/file.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 	"bazil.org/fuse"
 	fusefs "bazil.org/fuse/fs"
+	"github.com/ncw/rclone/cmd/mountlib"
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/fs/log"
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/vfs"
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ var _ fusefs.Node = (*File)(nil)
 // Attr fills out the attributes for the file
 func (f *File) Attr(ctx context.Context, a *fuse.Attr) (err error) {
 	defer log.Trace(f, "")("a=%+v, err=%v", a, &err)
+	a.Valid = mountlib.AttrTimeout
 	modTime := f.File.ModTime()
 	Size := uint64(f.File.Size())
 	Blocks := (Size + 511) / 512
diff --git a/cmd/mountlib/mount.go b/cmd/mountlib/mount.go
index 980106ce7..7327022b8 100644
--- a/cmd/mountlib/mount.go
+++ b/cmd/mountlib/mount.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"runtime"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/cmd"
 	"github.com/ncw/rclone/fs"
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ var (
 	MaxReadAhead       fs.SizeSuffix = 128 * 1024
 	ExtraOptions       []string
 	ExtraFlags         []string
+	AttrTimeout        = 0 * time.Second // how long the kernel caches attribute for
 )
 
 // Check is folder is empty
@@ -143,6 +145,20 @@ can't use retries in the same way without making local copies of the
 uploads. Look at the **EXPERIMENTAL** [file caching](#file-caching)
 for solutions to make ` + commandName + ` mount more reliable.
 
+### Attribute caching
+
+You can use the flag --attr-timeout to set the time the kernel caches
+the attributes (size, modification time etc) for directory entries.
+
+The default is 0s - no caching - which is recommended for filesystems
+which can change outside the control of the kernel.
+
+If you set it higher ('1s' or '1m' say) then the kernel will call back
+to rclone less often making it more efficient, however there may be
+strange effects when files change on the remote.
+
+This is the same as setting the attr_timeout option in mount.fuse.
+
 ### Filters
 
 Note that all the rclone filters can be used to select a subset of the
@@ -203,6 +219,7 @@ will see all files and folders immediately in this mode.
 	flags.BoolVarP(flagSet, &DefaultPermissions, "default-permissions", "", DefaultPermissions, "Makes kernel enforce access control based on the file mode.")
 	flags.BoolVarP(flagSet, &WritebackCache, "write-back-cache", "", WritebackCache, "Makes kernel buffer writes before sending them to rclone. Without this, writethrough caching is used.")
 	flags.FVarP(flagSet, &MaxReadAhead, "max-read-ahead", "", "The number of bytes that can be prefetched for sequential reads.")
+	flags.DurationVarP(flagSet, &AttrTimeout, "attr-timeout", "", AttrTimeout, "Time for which file/directory attributes are cached.")
 	flags.StringArrayVarP(flagSet, &ExtraOptions, "option", "o", []string{}, "Option for libfuse/WinFsp. Repeat if required.")
 	flags.StringArrayVarP(flagSet, &ExtraFlags, "fuse-flag", "", []string{}, "Flags or arguments to be passed direct to libfuse/WinFsp. Repeat if required.")
 	flags.BoolVarP(flagSet, &Daemon, "daemon", "", Daemon, "Run mount as a daemon (background mode).")