diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 90b8073f8e..1055800c4c 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -217,6 +217,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-utils"
+version = "0.8.12"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "edbafec5fa1f196ca66527c1b12c2ec4745ca14b50f1ad8f9f6f720b55d11fac"
+dependencies = [
+ "cfg-if 1.0.0",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ctor"
 version = "0.1.20"
@@ -483,20 +492,18 @@ dependencies = [
 ]
 
 [[package]]
-name = "gitignore"
-version = "1.0.7"
+name = "globset"
+version = "0.4.9"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "78aa90e4620c1498ac434c06ba6e521b525794bbdacf085d490cc794b4a2f9a4"
+checksum = "0a1e17342619edbc21a964c2afbeb6c820c6a2560032872f397bb97ea127bd0a"
 dependencies = [
- "glob",
+ "aho-corasick",
+ "bstr",
+ "fnv",
+ "log",
+ "regex",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "glob"
-version = "0.3.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "9b919933a397b79c37e33b77bb2aa3dc8eb6e165ad809e58ff75bc7db2e34574"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "h2"
 version = "0.3.4"
@@ -659,6 +666,24 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-normalization",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ignore"
+version = "0.4.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "713f1b139373f96a2e0ce3ac931cd01ee973c3c5dd7c40c0c2efe96ad2b6751d"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+ "globset",
+ "lazy_static",
+ "log",
+ "memchr",
+ "regex",
+ "same-file",
+ "thread_local",
+ "walkdir",
+ "winapi-util",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "indexmap"
 version = "1.7.0"
@@ -807,8 +832,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "elasticlunr-rs",
  "env_logger",
  "futures-util",
- "gitignore",
  "handlebars",
+ "ignore",
  "log",
  "memchr",
  "notify",
@@ -1631,6 +1656,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "thread_local"
+version = "1.1.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5516c27b78311c50bf42c071425c560ac799b11c30b31f87e3081965fe5e0180"
+dependencies = [
+ "once_cell",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "time"
 version = "0.1.43"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 5b564ec900..1ce783c2ad 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -20,11 +20,12 @@ anyhow = "1.0.28"
 chrono = "0.4"
 clap = { version = "3.0", features = ["cargo"] }
 clap_complete = "3.0"
-once_cell = "1"
 env_logger = "0.9.0"
+ignore = "0.4"
 handlebars = "4.0"
 log = "0.4"
 memchr = "2.0"
+once_cell = "1"
 opener = "0.5"
 pulldown-cmark = { version = "0.9.1", default-features = false }
 regex = "1.5.5"
@@ -37,7 +38,6 @@ topological-sort = "0.1.0"
 
 # Watch feature
 notify = { version = "4.0", optional = true }
-gitignore = { version = "1.0", optional = true }
 
 # Serve feature
 futures-util = { version = "0.3.4", optional = true }
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ walkdir = "2.0"
 
 [features]
 default = ["watch", "serve", "search"]
-watch = ["notify", "gitignore"]
+watch = ["notify"]
 serve = ["futures-util", "tokio", "warp"]
 search = ["elasticlunr-rs", "ammonia"]
 
diff --git a/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md b/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
index b9c3086114..c53da08366 100644
--- a/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
+++ b/guide/src/format/configuration/renderers.md
@@ -279,6 +279,18 @@ The value can be any valid URI the browser should navigate to (e.g. `https://rus
 This will generate an HTML page which will automatically redirect to the given location.
 Note that the source location does not support `#` anchor redirects.
 
+### `.mdbookignore`
+
+You can use a `.mdbookignore` file to exclude files from the build process.
+The file is placed in the `src` directory of your book and has the same format as
+[`.gitignore`](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore) files.
+
+For example:
+```
+*.rs
+/target/
+```
+
 ## Markdown Renderer
 
 The Markdown renderer will run preprocessors and then output the resulting
diff --git a/src/book/mod.rs b/src/book/mod.rs
index 5ec64d7c3a..e41f0c0af6 100644
--- a/src/book/mod.rs
+++ b/src/book/mod.rs
@@ -587,6 +587,7 @@ fn preprocessor_should_run(
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use std::str::FromStr;
+    use tempfile::Builder as TempFileBuilder;
     use toml::value::{Table, Value};
 
     #[test]
@@ -856,4 +857,21 @@ mod tests {
         let got = preprocessor_should_run(&BoolPreprocessor(should_be), &html, &cfg);
         assert_eq!(got, should_be);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn mdbookignore_ignores_file() {
+        let temp_dir = TempFileBuilder::new().prefix("mdbook-").tempdir().unwrap();
+        let test_book_dir = PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR")).join("test_book");
+
+        utils::fs::copy_files_except_ext(&test_book_dir, temp_dir.path(), true, None, None)
+            .expect("Error while copying test book to temp dir");
+
+        let book = MDBook::load(temp_dir.path()).expect("Unable to load book");
+        book.build().expect("Error while building book");
+
+        let book_dir = temp_dir.path().join("book");
+        assert!(book_dir.join("index.html").exists());
+        assert!(book_dir.join(".mdbookignore").exists());
+        assert!(!book_dir.join("ignored_file").exists());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/cmd/watch.rs b/src/cmd/watch.rs
index 9336af779a..4021afbc29 100644
--- a/src/cmd/watch.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/watch.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use crate::{get_book_dir, open};
 use clap::{arg, App, Arg, ArgMatches};
+use ignore::gitignore::Gitignore;
 use mdbook::errors::Result;
 use mdbook::utils;
 use mdbook::MDBook;
@@ -75,16 +76,7 @@ fn remove_ignored_files(book_root: &Path, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
     }
 
     match find_gitignore(book_root) {
-        Some(gitignore_path) => {
-            match gitignore::File::new(gitignore_path.as_path()) {
-                Ok(exclusion_checker) => filter_ignored_files(exclusion_checker, paths),
-                Err(_) => {
-                    // We're unable to read the .gitignore file, so we'll silently allow everything.
-                    // Please see discussion: https://github.com/rust-lang/mdBook/pull/1051
-                    paths.iter().map(|path| path.to_path_buf()).collect()
-                }
-            }
-        }
+        Some(gitignore_path) => filter_ignored_files(&Gitignore::new(gitignore_path).0, paths),
         None => {
             // There is no .gitignore file.
             paths.iter().map(|path| path.to_path_buf()).collect()
@@ -99,18 +91,16 @@ fn find_gitignore(book_root: &Path) -> Option<PathBuf> {
         .find(|p| p.exists())
 }
 
-fn filter_ignored_files(exclusion_checker: gitignore::File, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
+fn filter_ignored_files(ignore: &Gitignore, paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
     paths
         .iter()
-        .filter(|path| match exclusion_checker.is_excluded(path) {
-            Ok(exclude) => !exclude,
-            Err(error) => {
-                warn!(
-                    "Unable to determine if {:?} is excluded: {:?}. Including it.",
-                    &path, error
-                );
-                true
-            }
+        .filter(|path| {
+            let canonicalized = path.canonicalize();
+            let p = canonicalized.as_ref().unwrap_or(path);
+
+            !ignore
+                .matched_path_or_any_parents(p, p.is_dir())
+                .is_ignore()
         })
         .map(|path| path.to_path_buf())
         .collect()
diff --git a/src/renderer/html_handlebars/hbs_renderer.rs b/src/renderer/html_handlebars/hbs_renderer.rs
index 710449af0d..47ca002b63 100644
--- a/src/renderer/html_handlebars/hbs_renderer.rs
+++ b/src/renderer/html_handlebars/hbs_renderer.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use crate::utils::fs::get_404_output_file;
 use handlebars::Handlebars;
+use ignore::gitignore::GitignoreBuilder;
 use log::{debug, trace, warn};
 use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
 use regex::{Captures, Regex};
@@ -589,7 +590,23 @@ impl Renderer for HtmlHandlebars {
             .context("Unable to emit redirects")?;
 
         // Copy all remaining files, avoid a recursive copy from/to the book build dir
-        utils::fs::copy_files_except_ext(&src_dir, destination, true, Some(&build_dir), &["md"])?;
+        let mut builder = GitignoreBuilder::new(&src_dir);
+        let mdbook_ignore = src_dir.join(".mdbookignore");
+        if mdbook_ignore.exists() {
+            if let Some(err) = builder.add(mdbook_ignore) {
+                warn!("Unable to load '.mdbookignore' file: {}", err);
+            }
+        }
+        builder.add_line(None, "*.md")?;
+        let ignore = builder.build()?;
+
+        utils::fs::copy_files_except_ext(
+            &src_dir,
+            destination,
+            true,
+            Some(&build_dir),
+            Some(&ignore),
+        )?;
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/src/utils/fs.rs b/src/utils/fs.rs
index 0d6f383746..8c3a50b7a0 100644
--- a/src/utils/fs.rs
+++ b/src/utils/fs.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::errors::*;
+use ignore::gitignore::Gitignore;
 use log::{debug, trace};
 use std::convert::Into;
 use std::fs::{self, File};
@@ -94,13 +95,13 @@ pub fn copy_files_except_ext(
     to: &Path,
     recursive: bool,
     avoid_dir: Option<&PathBuf>,
-    ext_blacklist: &[&str],
+    ignore: Option<&Gitignore>,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     debug!(
         "Copying all files from {} to {} (blacklist: {:?}), avoiding {:?}",
         from.display(),
         to.display(),
-        ext_blacklist,
+        ignore,
         avoid_dir
     );
 
@@ -116,6 +117,14 @@ pub fn copy_files_except_ext(
             .metadata()
             .with_context(|| format!("Failed to read {:?}", entry.path()))?;
 
+        // Check if it is in the blacklist
+        if let Some(ignore) = ignore {
+            let path = entry.path();
+            if ignore.matched(&path, path.is_dir()).is_ignore() {
+                continue;
+            }
+        }
+
         // If the entry is a dir and the recursive option is enabled, call itself
         if metadata.is_dir() && recursive {
             if entry.path() == to.to_path_buf() {
@@ -138,15 +147,9 @@ pub fn copy_files_except_ext(
                 &to.join(entry.file_name()),
                 true,
                 avoid_dir,
-                ext_blacklist,
+                ignore,
             )?;
         } else if metadata.is_file() {
-            // Check if it is in the blacklist
-            if let Some(ext) = entry.path().extension() {
-                if ext_blacklist.contains(&ext.to_str().unwrap()) {
-                    continue;
-                }
-            }
             debug!(
                 "creating path for file: {:?}",
                 &to.join(
@@ -191,6 +194,7 @@ pub fn get_404_output_file(input_404: &Option<String>) -> String {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::copy_files_except_ext;
+    use ignore::gitignore::GitignoreBuilder;
     use std::{fs, io::Result, path::Path};
 
     #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
@@ -247,9 +251,19 @@ mod tests {
             panic!("Could not create output/sub_dir_exists: {}", err);
         }
 
-        if let Err(e) =
-            copy_files_except_ext(tmp.path(), &tmp.path().join("output"), true, None, &["md"])
-        {
+        let ignore = GitignoreBuilder::new(tmp.path())
+            .add_line(None, "*.md")
+            .expect("Unable to add '*.md' to gitignore builder")
+            .build()
+            .expect("Unable to build gitignore");
+
+        if let Err(e) = copy_files_except_ext(
+            tmp.path(),
+            &tmp.path().join("output"),
+            true,
+            None,
+            Some(&ignore),
+        ) {
             panic!("Error while executing the function:\n{:?}", e);
         }
 
diff --git a/test_book/src/.mdbookignore b/test_book/src/.mdbookignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6a79f808a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_book/src/.mdbookignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ignored_file
diff --git a/test_book/src/ignored_file b/test_book/src/ignored_file
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1ce1f71700
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_book/src/ignored_file
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This will not be copied to the book directory.