diff --git a/lib/response.js b/lib/response.js
index c9f08cd54f4..bf183e9699a 100644
--- a/lib/response.js
+++ b/lib/response.js
@@ -64,6 +64,14 @@ var charsetRegExp = /;\s*charset\s*=/;
  */
 
 res.status = function status(code) {
+
+  if (
+    !Object.keys(http.STATUS_CODES).find(
+      (statuscode) => statuscode == code
+    )
+  )
+    throw new TypeError(`${code} is not a valid http status code.`);	
+
   this.statusCode = code;
   return this;
 };
diff --git a/test/res.status.js b/test/res.status.js
index 8c173a645c5..8957d172c1a 100644
--- a/test/res.status.js
+++ b/test/res.status.js
@@ -16,5 +16,14 @@ describe('res', function(){
       .expect('Created')
       .expect(201, done);
     })
+    it("should throw an error internal server error for invalid status code.", function (done) {
+      var app = express();
+
+      app.use(function (req, res) {
+        res.status(209).end();
+      });
+
+      request(app).get("/").expect(500, done);
+    });
   })
 })