diff --git a/docs/rules/no-setup-in-describe.md b/docs/rules/no-setup-in-describe.md
index 6a26ac1..ebb72af 100644
--- a/docs/rules/no-setup-in-describe.md
+++ b/docs/rules/no-setup-in-describe.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Any setup directly in a `describe` is run before all tests execute. This is unde
 1. When doing TDD in a large codebase, all setup is run for tests that don't have `only` set. This can add a substantial amount of time per iteration.
 2. If global state is altered by the setup of another describe block, your test may be affected.
 
-This rule reports all function calls and use of the dot operator (due to getters and setters) directly in describe blocks.
+This rule reports all function calls and use of the dot operator (due to getters and setters) directly in describe blocks. An exception is made for Mocha's suite configuration methods, like `this.timeout();`, which do not represent setup logic.
 
 If you're using [dynamically generated tests](https://mochajs.org/#dynamically-generating-tests), you should disable this rule.
 
@@ -68,4 +68,8 @@ describe('something', function () {
         const { a, b } = setup();
     });
 });
+describe('something', function () {
+    this.timeout(5000);
+    it('should take awhile', function () {});
+});
 ```
diff --git a/lib/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js b/lib/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
index fcc1873..a0886c0 100644
--- a/lib/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
+++ b/lib/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ module.exports = function noSetupInDescribe(context) {
     const settings = context.settings;
 
     function isPureNode(node) {
-        return astUtils.isHookCall(node) || astUtils.isTestCase(node);
+        return astUtils.isHookCall(node) ||
+          astUtils.isTestCase(node) ||
+          astUtils.isSuiteConfigCall(node);
     }
 
     function reportCallExpression(callExpression) {
diff --git a/lib/util/ast.js b/lib/util/ast.js
index aa99877..bae0dde 100644
--- a/lib/util/ast.js
+++ b/lib/util/ast.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const describeAliases = [
     'suite', 'xsuite', 'suite.only', 'suite.skip'
 ];
 const hooks = [ 'before', 'after', 'beforeEach', 'afterEach', 'beforeAll', 'afterAll' ];
+const suiteConfig = [ 'timeout', 'slow', 'retries' ];
 const testCaseNames = [
     'it', 'it.only', 'it.skip', 'xit',
     'test', 'test.only', 'test.skip',
@@ -43,6 +44,16 @@ function isHookCall(node) {
     return isCallExpression(node) && isHookIdentifier(node.callee);
 }
 
+function isSuiteConfigExpression(node) {
+    return node.type === 'MemberExpression' &&
+      node.object.type === 'ThisExpression' &&
+      suiteConfig.indexOf(getPropertyName(node.property)) !== -1;
+}
+
+function isSuiteConfigCall(node) {
+    return isCallExpression(node) && isSuiteConfigExpression(node.callee);
+}
+
 function isTestCase(node) {
     return isCallExpression(node) && testCaseNames.indexOf(getNodeName(node.callee)) > -1;
 }
@@ -102,6 +113,7 @@ module.exports = {
     getNodeName,
     isMochaFunctionCall,
     isHookCall,
+    isSuiteConfigCall,
     isStringLiteral,
     hasParentMochaFunctionCall,
     findReturnStatement,
diff --git a/test/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js b/test/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
index 3109fb1..21e98ad 100644
--- a/test/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
+++ b/test/rules/no-setup-in-describe.js
@@ -19,10 +19,18 @@ ruleTester.run('no-setup-in-describe', rule, {
         'it("", function () { a[b]; })',
         'it("", function () { a["b"]; })',
         'describe("", function () { it(); })',
+        'describe("", function () { this.slow(1); it(); })',
+        'describe("", function () { this.timeout(1); it(); })',
+        'describe("", function () { this.retries(1); it(); })',
+        'describe("", function () { this["retries"](1); it(); })',
         'describe("", function () { it("", function () { b(); }); })',
         'describe("", function () { it("", function () { a.b; }); })',
         'describe("", function () { it("", function () { a[b]; }); })',
         'describe("", function () { it("", function () { a["b"]; }); })',
+        'describe("", function () { it("", function () { this.slow(1); }); })',
+        'describe("", function () { it("", function () { this.timeout(1); }); })',
+        'describe("", function () { it("", function () { this.retries(1); }); })',
+        'describe("", function () { it("", function () { this["retries"](1); }); })',
         'describe("", function () { function a() { b(); }; it(); })',
         'describe("", function () { function a() { b.c; }; it(); })',
         'describe("", function () { afterEach(function() { b(); }); it(); })',
@@ -125,6 +133,17 @@ ruleTester.run('no-setup-in-describe', rule, {
                 line: 1,
                 column: 28
             } ]
+        }, {
+            code: 'describe("", function () { this.a(); });',
+            errors: [ {
+                message: 'Unexpected function call in describe block.',
+                line: 1,
+                column: 28
+            }, {
+                message: memberExpressionError,
+                line: 1,
+                column: 28
+            } ]
         }, {
             code: 'foo("", function () { a.b; });',
             settings: {