diff --git a/bigchaindb/__init__.py b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
index 8dc0318a..74b87129 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/__init__.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/__init__.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ config = {
         'threads': None,  # if none, the value will be cpu_count * 2 + 1
     },
     'database': {
-        'backend': 'rethinkdb',
+        'backend': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_BACKEND', 'rethinkdb'),
         'host': os.environ.get('BIGCHAINDB_DATABASE_HOST', 'localhost'),
         'port': 28015,
         'name': 'bigchain',