diff --git a/lib/kafka_ex/gen_consumer.ex b/lib/kafka_ex/gen_consumer.ex
index 9df2874a..c659eea6 100644
--- a/lib/kafka_ex/gen_consumer.ex
+++ b/lib/kafka_ex/gen_consumer.ex
@@ -200,6 +200,7 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
   """
   @type option :: {:commit_interval, non_neg_integer}
                 | {:commit_threshold, non_neg_integer}
+                | {:auto_offset_reset, :none | :earliest | :latest}
 
   @typedoc """
   Options used when starting a `KafkaEx.GenConsumer`.
@@ -297,11 +298,13 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
       :committed_offset,
       :acked_offset,
       :last_commit,
+      :auto_offset_reset,
     ]
   end
 
   @commit_interval 5_000
   @commit_threshold 100
+  @auto_offset_reset :none
 
   # Client API
 
@@ -323,6 +326,11 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
   * `:commit_threshold` - Threshold number of messages consumed to commit
     offsets to the broker.  Default 100.
 
+  * `:auto_offset_reset` - The policy for resetting offsets when an
+    `:offset_out_of_range` error occurs. `:earliest` will move the offset to
+    the oldest available, `:latest` moves to the most recent. If anything else
+    is specified, the error will simply be raised.
+
   Both `:commit_interval` and `:commit_threshold` default to the application
   config (e.g., `Application.get_env/2`) if that value is present, or the
   stated default if the application config is not present.
@@ -389,6 +397,11 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
       :commit_threshold,
       Application.get_env(:kafka_ex, :commit_threshold, @commit_threshold)
     )
+    auto_offset_reset = Keyword.get(
+      opts,
+      :auto_offset_reset,
+      Application.get_env(:kafka_ex, :auto_offset_reset, @auto_offset_reset)
+    )
 
     {:ok, consumer_state} = consumer_module.init(topic, partition)
     worker_opts = Keyword.take(opts, [:uris])
@@ -402,6 +415,7 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
       consumer_state: consumer_state,
       commit_interval: commit_interval,
       commit_threshold: commit_threshold,
+      auto_offset_reset: auto_offset_reset,
       worker_name: worker_name,
       group: group_name,
       topic: topic,
@@ -475,7 +489,7 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
       %FetchResponse{
         topic: ^topic,
         partitions: [
-          response = %{error_code: :no_error, partition: ^partition}
+          response = %{error_code: error_code, partition: ^partition}
         ]
       }
     ] = KafkaEx.fetch(
@@ -486,6 +500,14 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
       worker_name: worker_name
     )
 
+    state =
+      case error_code do
+        :offset_out_of_range ->
+          handle_offset_out_of_range(state)
+        :no_error ->
+          state
+      end
+
     case response do
       %{last_offset: nil, message_set: []} ->
         handle_commit(:async_commit, state)
@@ -515,6 +537,41 @@ defmodule KafkaEx.GenConsumer do
     handle_commit(sync_status, state_out)
   end
 
+  defp handle_offset_out_of_range(
+    %State{
+      worker_name: worker_name,
+      topic: topic,
+      partition: partition,
+      current_offset: current_offset,
+      committed_offset: committed_offset,
+      acked_offset: acked_offset,
+      auto_offset_reset: auto_offset_reset
+    } = state
+  ) do
+    [
+      %OffsetResponse{
+        topic: ^topic,
+        partition_offsets: [
+          %{partition: ^partition, error_code: :no_error, offset: [offset]}
+        ]
+      }
+    ] = case auto_offset_reset do
+      :earliest ->
+        KafkaEx.earliest_offset(topic, partition, worker_name)
+      :latest ->
+        KafkaEx.latest_offset(topic, partition, worker_name)
+      _ ->
+        raise "Offset out of range while consuming topic #{topic}, partition #{partition}."
+    end
+
+    %State{
+      state |
+      current_offset: offset,
+      committed_offset: offset,
+      acked_offset: offset
+    }
+  end
+
   defp handle_commit(:sync_commit, %State{} = state), do: commit(state)
   defp handle_commit(
     :async_commit,