diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5f1abf39..d6510eb8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Logs
 logs
 *.log
+.vscode
 
 # Runtime data
 pids
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c5e4ce19..0004a80d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Barebone MQTT server that can run on any stream server.
 * [TODO](#todo)
 * [Plugins](#plugins)
 * [Collaborators](#collaborators)
+* [Contributing](#contributing)
 * [Acknowledgements](#acknowledgements)
 * [Mosca Vs Aedes](#mosca-vs-aedes)
 * [License](#license)
@@ -126,6 +127,8 @@ Options:
 * `persistence`: an instance of [AedesPersistence](http://npm.im/aedes-persistence), check [plugins](#plugins) for more persistence options. It's used to store *QoS > 1*, *retained*, *will* packets and subscriptions in memory or on disk (if not specified default persistence is in memory)
 * `concurrency`: the max number of messages delivered concurrently,
   defaults to `100`
+* `queueLimit`: the max number of messages queued while client is waiting to connect,
+  defaults to `42`. If the number is exceeded `connectionError` is thrown with error `Client queue limit reached`
 * `heartbeatInterval`: the interval at which the broker heartbeat is
   emitted, it used by other broker in the cluster, defaults to
   `60000` milliseconds
@@ -528,6 +531,10 @@ This library is born after a lot of discussion with all
 production. This addresses your concerns about performance and
 stability.
 
+## Contributing
+
+Want to contribute? Check our list of features/bugs [here](https://github.com/moscajs/aedes/projects/1)
+
 ## Mosca vs Aedes
 
 Example benchmark test with 1000 clients sending 5000 QoS 1 messsages. Used [mqtt-benchmark](https://github.com/krylovsk/mqtt-benchmark) with command:
diff --git a/aedes.js b/aedes.js
index e2d5c268..9bb540f8 100644
--- a/aedes.js
+++ b/aedes.js
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ var defaultOptions = {
   authorizeForward: defaultAuthorizeForward,
   published: defaultPublished,
   trustProxy: false,
-  trustedProxies: []
+  trustedProxies: [],
+  queueLimit: 42
 }
 
 function Aedes (opts) {
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ function Aedes (opts) {
 
   this.id = opts.id || uuidv4()
   this.counter = 0
+  this.queueLimit = opts.queueLimit
   this.connectTimeout = opts.connectTimeout
   this.mq = opts.mq || mqemitter(opts)
   this.handle = function handle (conn, req) {
diff --git a/lib/client.js b/lib/client.js
index fabb068c..ea14a363 100644
--- a/lib/client.js
+++ b/lib/client.js
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ function Client (broker, conn, req) {
 
   this._parser = mqtt.parser()
   this._parser.client = this
+  this._parser._queue = [] // queue packets received before client fires 'connect' event. Prevents memory leaks on 'connect' event
   this._parser.on('packet', enqueue)
+  this.once('connected', dequeue)
 
   function nextBatch (err) {
     if (err) {
@@ -82,11 +84,9 @@ function Client (broker, conn, req) {
   }
   this._nextBatch = nextBatch
 
-  this.on('error', onError)
-
-  nextBatch()
-
   conn.on('readable', nextBatch)
+
+  this.on('error', onError)
   conn.on('error', this.emit.bind(this, 'error'))
   this._parser.on('error', this.emit.bind(this, 'error'))
 
@@ -246,6 +246,8 @@ Client.prototype.close = function (done) {
   this._parser.removeAllListeners('packet')
   conn.removeAllListeners('readable')
 
+  this._parser._queue = null
+
   if (this._keepaliveTimer) {
     this._keepaliveTimer.clear()
     this._keepaliveInterval = -1
@@ -338,9 +340,22 @@ function enqueue (packet) {
   if (client.connackSent || client._parsingBatch === 1) {
     handle(client, packet, client._nextBatch)
   } else {
-    client.on('connected', () => {
-      handle(client, packet, client._nextBatch)
-    })
+    if (this._queue.length < client.broker.queueLimit) {
+      this._queue.push(packet)
+    } else {
+      this.emit('error', new Error('Client queue limit reached'))
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+function dequeue () {
+  var q = this._parser._queue
+  if (q) {
+    for (var i = 0, len = q.length; i < len; i++) {
+      handle(this, q[i], this._nextBatch)
+    }
+
+    this._parser._queue = null
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/test/connect.js b/test/connect.js
index 5eefd9ae..04077997 100644
--- a/test/connect.js
+++ b/test/connect.js
@@ -332,6 +332,84 @@ test('reject clients with wrong protocol name', function (t) {
   broker.on('closed', t.end.bind(t))
 })
 
+test('After first CONNECT Packet, others are queued until \'connect\' event', function (t) {
+  var queueLimit = 50
+  var broker = aedes({ queueLimit })
+
+  var publishP = {
+    cmd: 'publish',
+    topic: 'hello',
+    payload: Buffer.from('world'),
+    qos: 0,
+    retain: false
+  }
+
+  var connectP = {
+    cmd: 'connect',
+    protocolId: 'MQTT',
+    protocolVersion: 4,
+    clean: true,
+    clientId: 'abcde',
+    keepalive: 0
+  }
+
+  var s = setup(broker, false)
+  s.inStream.write(connectP)
+
+  process.once('warning', e => t.fail('Memory leak detected'))
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < queueLimit; i++) {
+    s.inStream.write(publishP)
+  }
+
+  broker.on('client', function (client) {
+    t.equal(client._parser._queue.length, queueLimit, 'Packets have been queued')
+
+    client.once('connected', () => {
+      t.equal(client._parser._queue, null, 'Queue is empty')
+      s.conn.destroy()
+      broker.close(t.end)
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+test('Test queue limit', function (t) {
+  var queueLimit = 50
+  var broker = aedes({ queueLimit })
+
+  var publishP = {
+    cmd: 'publish',
+    topic: 'hello',
+    payload: Buffer.from('world'),
+    qos: 0,
+    retain: false
+  }
+
+  var connectP = {
+    cmd: 'connect',
+    protocolId: 'MQTT',
+    protocolVersion: 4,
+    clean: true,
+    clientId: 'abcde',
+    keepalive: 0
+  }
+
+  var s = setup(broker, false)
+  s.inStream.write(connectP)
+
+  process.once('warning', e => t.fail('Memory leak detected'))
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < queueLimit + 1; i++) {
+    s.inStream.write(publishP)
+  }
+
+  broker.on('connectionError', function (conn, err) {
+    t.equal(err.message, 'Client queue limit reached', 'Queue error is thrown')
+    s.conn.destroy()
+    broker.close(t.end)
+  })
+})
+
 ;[[0, null, false], [1, null, true], [1, new Error('connection banned'), false], [1, new Error('connection banned'), true]].forEach(function (ele) {
   var plan = ele[0]
   var err = ele[1]
diff --git a/types/index.d.ts b/types/index.d.ts
index 0ebfd6c4..ea0ff9e2 100644
--- a/types/index.d.ts
+++ b/types/index.d.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ declare namespace aedes {
     authorizeSubscribe?: AuthorizeSubscribeCallback
     authorizeForward?: AuthorizeForwardCallback
     published?: PublishedCallback
+    queueLimit?: number
   }
 
   export interface Aedes extends EventEmitter {