diff --git a/python/ray/rllib/agents/trainer.py b/python/ray/rllib/agents/trainer.py
index 8e123cb01..bf84699aa 100644
--- a/python/ray/rllib/agents/trainer.py
+++ b/python/ray/rllib/agents/trainer.py
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ COMMON_CONFIG = {
     # Execute TF loss functions in eager mode. This is currently experimental
     # and only really works with the basic PG algorithm.
     "use_eager": False,
+    "log_sys_usage": True,
 
     # === Policy ===
     # Arguments to pass to model. See models/catalog.py for a full list of the
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/experiment.py b/python/ray/tune/experiment.py
index 8d64c6aa7..1f3eedb8a 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/experiment.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/experiment.py
@@ -87,11 +87,13 @@ class Experiment(object):
         if sync_function:
             _raise_deprecation_note(
                 "sync_function", "sync_to_driver", soft=False)
+
+        config = config or {}
         run_identifier = Experiment._register_if_needed(run)
         spec = {
             "run": run_identifier,
             "stop": stop or {},
-            "config": config or {},
+            "config": config,
             "resources_per_trial": resources_per_trial,
             "num_samples": num_samples,
             "local_dir": os.path.expanduser(local_dir or DEFAULT_RESULTS_DIR),
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/trainable.py b/python/ray/tune/trainable.py
index bb70e2b39..40d3a6c9d 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/trainable.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/trainable.py
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ from ray.tune.result import (DEFAULT_RESULTS_DIR, TIME_THIS_ITER_S,
                              EPISODES_THIS_ITER, EPISODES_TOTAL,
                              TRAINING_ITERATION, RESULT_DUPLICATE)
 
+from ray.tune.util import UtilMonitor
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@ class Trainable(object):
 
         self._experiment_id = uuid.uuid4().hex
         self.config = config or {}
+        log_sys_usage = self.config.get("log_sys_usage", False)
 
         if logger_creator:
             self._result_logger = logger_creator(self.config)
@@ -86,6 +89,7 @@ class Trainable(object):
         self._restored = False
         self._setup(copy.deepcopy(self.config))
         self._local_ip = ray.services.get_node_ip_address()
+        self._monitor = UtilMonitor(start=log_sys_usage)
 
     @classmethod
     def default_resource_request(cls, config):
@@ -205,6 +209,10 @@ class Trainable(object):
             timesteps_since_restore=self._timesteps_since_restore,
             iterations_since_restore=self._iterations_since_restore)
 
+        monitor_data = self._monitor.get_data()
+        if monitor_data:
+            result.update(monitor_data)
+
         self._log_result(result)
 
         return result
@@ -442,7 +450,6 @@ class Trainable(object):
         Args:
             result (dict): Training result returned by _train().
         """
-
         self._result_logger.on_result(result)
 
     def _stop(self):
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/util.py b/python/ray/tune/util.py
index 7440ba49f..a612718c0 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/util.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/util.py
@@ -2,22 +2,103 @@ from __future__ import absolute_import
 from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import print_function
 
-import logging
 import base64
-import fnmatch
-import os
 import copy
-import numpy as np
+import fnmatch
+import logging
+import os
+import threading
 import time
+from collections import defaultdict
+from threading import Thread
 
+import numpy as np
 import ray
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+try:
+    import psutil
+except ImportError:
+    psutil = None
+
+try:
+    import GPUtil
+except ImportError:
+    GPUtil = None
+
 _pinned_objects = []
 PINNED_OBJECT_PREFIX = "ray.tune.PinnedObject:"
 
 
+class UtilMonitor(Thread):
+    """Class for system usage utilization monitoring.
+
+    It keeps track of CPU, RAM, GPU, VRAM usage (each gpu separately) by
+    pinging for information every x seconds in a separate thread.
+
+    Requires psutil and GPUtil to be installed. Can be enabled with
+    tune.run(config={"log_sys_usage": True}).
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, start=True, delay=0.7):
+        self.stopped = True
+        if GPUtil is None:
+            logger.warning("Install gputil for GPU system monitoring.")
+
+        if psutil is None:
+            logger.warning("Install psutil to monitor system performance.")
+
+        if GPUtil is None and psutil is None:
+            return
+
+        super(UtilMonitor, self).__init__()
+        self.delay = delay  # Time between calls to GPUtil
+        self.values = defaultdict(list)
+        self.lock = threading.Lock()
+        self.daemon = True
+        if start:
+            self.start()
+
+    def _read_utilization(self):
+        with self.lock:
+            if psutil is not None:
+                self.values["cpu_util_percent"].append(
+                    float(psutil.cpu_percent(interval=None)))
+                self.values["ram_util_percent"].append(
+                    float(getattr(psutil.virtual_memory(), "percent")))
+            if GPUtil is not None:
+                for gpu in GPUtil.getGPUs():
+                    self.values["gpu_util_percent" + str(gpu.id)].append(
+                        float(gpu.load))
+                    self.values["vram_util_percent" + str(gpu.id)].append(
+                        float(gpu.memoryUtil))
+
+    def get_data(self):
+        if self.stopped:
+            return {}
+
+        with self.lock:
+            ret_values = copy.deepcopy(self.values)
+            for key, val in self.values.items():
+                del val[:]
+        return {
+            "perf": {
+                k: np.mean(v)
+                for k, v in ret_values.items() if len(v) > 0
+            }
+        }
+
+    def run(self):
+        self.stopped = False
+        while not self.stopped:
+            self._read_utilization()
+            time.sleep(self.delay)
+
+    def stop(self):
+        self.stopped = True
+
+
 def pin_in_object_store(obj):
     """Pin an object in the object store.