diff --git a/src/mem3.erl b/src/mem3.erl
index 405d7e5..85093cd 100644
--- a/src/mem3.erl
+++ b/src/mem3.erl
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 -module(mem3).
 
 -export([start/0, stop/0, restart/0, nodes/0, node_info/2, shards/1, shards/2,
-    choose_shards/2, n/1, n/2, dbname/1, ushards/1]).
+    choose_shards/2, n/1, n/2, dbname/1, ushards/1, get_maintenance_mode/0]).
 -export([get_shard/3, local_shards/1, shard_suffix/1, fold_shards/2]).
 -export([sync_security/0, sync_security/1]).
 -export([compare_nodelists/0, compare_shards/1]).
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@
 node_info(Node, Key) ->
     mem3_nodes:get_node_info(Node, Key).
 
+-spec get_maintenance_mode() -> {node(), Mode::list()}.
+get_maintenance_mode() ->
+    Mode = config:get("couchdb", "maintenance_mode", "false"),
+    {node(), Mode}.
+
 -spec shards(DbName::iodata()) -> [#shard{}].
 shards(DbName) ->
     shards_int(DbName, []).
@@ -126,7 +131,7 @@
 
 -spec ushards(DbName::iodata()) -> [#shard{}].
 ushards(DbName) ->
-    Nodes = [node()|erlang:nodes()],
+    Nodes = non_maintenance_nodes(),
     ZoneMap = zone_map(Nodes),
     Shards = ushards(DbName, live_shards(DbName, Nodes, [ordered]), ZoneMap),
     mem3_util:downcast(Shards).
@@ -254,6 +259,10 @@
 nodes_in_zone(Nodes, Zone) ->
     [Node || Node <- Nodes, Zone == mem3:node_info(Node, <<"zone">>)].
 
+non_maintenance_nodes() ->
+    {Modes, _} = rpc:multicall(mem3, get_maintenance_mode, []),
+    [N || {N, Mode} <- Modes, Mode =:= "false"].
+
 live_shards(DbName, Nodes) ->
     live_shards(DbName, Nodes, []).
 
diff --git a/test/mem3_ushards_test.erl b/test/mem3_ushards_test.erl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ee2854
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/mem3_ushards_test.erl
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+% Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+% use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+% the License at
+%
+%   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+%
+% Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+% distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+% WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+% License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+% the License.
+
+-module(mem3_ushards_test).
+
+-include_lib("couch/include/couch_eunit.hrl").
+-include_lib("couch/include/couch_db.hrl").
+-include_lib("mem3/include/mem3.hrl").
+
+-define(TIMEOUT, 10000).
+
+setup() ->
+    DbName = ?tempdb(),
+    ok = fabric:create_db(DbName, [?ADMIN_CTX]),
+    DbName.
+
+teardown(DbName) ->
+    ok = fabric:delete_db(DbName, [?ADMIN_CTX]).
+
+ushard_test_() ->
+    {
+        "Maintenance node test",
+        {
+            setup,
+            fun() -> test_util:start_couch([mem3]) end,
+            fun test_util:stop/1,
+            {
+                foreach,
+                fun setup/0, fun teardown/1,
+                [
+                    fun maintenance_mode_true/1,
+                    fun maintenance_mode_nolb/1
+                ]
+            }
+        }
+    }.
+
+maintenance_mode_true(DbName) ->
+    config:set("couchdb", "maintenance_mode", "true"),
+    UShards = mem3:ushards(DbName),
+    Nodes = [Node || #shard{node=Node} <- UShards, Node =:= node()],
+    ?_assertEqual([], Nodes).
+
+maintenance_mode_nolb(DbName) ->
+    config:set("couchdb", "maintenance_mode", "nolb"),
+    UShards = mem3:ushards(DbName),
+    Nodes = [Node || #shard{node=Node} <- UShards, Node =:= node()],
+    ?_assertEqual([], Nodes).