diff --git a/rfc3986/uri.py b/rfc3986/uri.py
index 4e88566..8c72e59 100644
--- a/rfc3986/uri.py
+++ b/rfc3986/uri.py
@@ -20,6 +20,22 @@ class URIReference(namedtuple('URIReference', URI_COMPONENTS)):
             query or None,
             fragment or None)
 
+    def __eq__(self, other):
+        other_ref = other
+        if isinstance(other, tuple):
+            other_ref = URIReference(*other)
+        elif isinstance(other, str):
+            other_ref = URIReference.from_string(other)
+        elif not isinstance(other, URIReference):
+            raise TypeError(
+                'Unable to compare URIReference() to {0}()'.format(
+                    type(other).__name__))
+
+        naive_equality = tuple(self) == tuple(other_ref)
+        if not naive_equality:
+            return False
+        return True
+
     @classmethod
     def from_string(cls, uri_string):
         """Parse a URI reference from the given unicode URI string.
@@ -151,6 +167,7 @@ class URIReference(namedtuple('URIReference', URI_COMPONENTS)):
         :returns: The URI Reference reconstituted as a string.
         :rtype: str
         """
+        # See http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-5.3
         result_list = []
         if self.scheme:
             result_list.extend([self.scheme, ':'])
diff --git a/tests/test_uri.py b/tests/test_uri.py
index 2d35b99..f4fb122 100644
--- a/tests/test_uri.py
+++ b/tests/test_uri.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from rfc3986.exceptions import InvalidAuthority
+from rfc3986.misc import URI_MATCHER
 from rfc3986.uri import URIReference
 
 
@@ -253,7 +254,6 @@ class TestURIValidation:
 
 
 class TestURIReferenceUnsplits:
-    # Valid URI tests
     def test_basic_uri_unsplits(self, basic_uri):
         uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri)
         assert uri.unsplit() == basic_uri
@@ -290,3 +290,82 @@ class TestURIReferenceUnsplits:
     def test_scheme_and_path_uri_unsplits(self, scheme_and_path_uri):
         uri = URIReference.from_string(scheme_and_path_uri)
         assert uri.unsplit() == scheme_and_path_uri
+
+
+class TestURIReferenceComparesToStrings:
+    def test_basic_uri(self, basic_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri)
+        assert uri == basic_uri
+
+    def test_basic_uri_with_port(self, basic_uri_with_port):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri_with_port)
+        assert uri == basic_uri_with_port
+
+    def test_uri_with_port_and_userinfo(self, uri_with_port_and_userinfo):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_port_and_userinfo)
+        assert uri == uri_with_port_and_userinfo
+
+    def test_basic_uri_with_path(self, basic_uri_with_path):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri_with_path)
+        assert uri == basic_uri_with_path
+
+    def test_uri_with_path_and_query(self, uri_with_path_and_query):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_path_and_query)
+        assert uri == uri_with_path_and_query
+
+    def test_uri_with_everything(self, uri_with_everything):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_everything)
+        assert uri == uri_with_everything
+
+    def test_relative_uri(self, relative_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(relative_uri)
+        assert uri == relative_uri
+
+    def test_absolute_path_uri(self, absolute_path_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(absolute_path_uri)
+        assert uri == absolute_path_uri
+
+    def test_scheme_and_path_uri(self, scheme_and_path_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(scheme_and_path_uri)
+        assert uri == scheme_and_path_uri
+
+
+class TestURIReferenceComparesToTuples:
+    def to_tuple(self, uri):
+        return URI_MATCHER.match(uri).groups()
+
+    def test_basic_uri(self, basic_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(basic_uri)
+
+    def test_basic_uri_with_port(self, basic_uri_with_port):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri_with_port)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(basic_uri_with_port)
+
+    def test_uri_with_port_and_userinfo(self, uri_with_port_and_userinfo):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_port_and_userinfo)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(uri_with_port_and_userinfo)
+
+    def test_basic_uri_with_path(self, basic_uri_with_path):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(basic_uri_with_path)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(basic_uri_with_path)
+
+    def test_uri_with_path_and_query(self, uri_with_path_and_query):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_path_and_query)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(uri_with_path_and_query)
+
+    def test_uri_with_everything(self, uri_with_everything):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(uri_with_everything)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(uri_with_everything)
+
+    def test_relative_uri(self, relative_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(relative_uri)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(relative_uri)
+
+    def test_absolute_path_uri(self, absolute_path_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(absolute_path_uri)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(absolute_path_uri)
+
+    def test_scheme_and_path_uri(self, scheme_and_path_uri):
+        uri = URIReference.from_string(scheme_and_path_uri)
+        assert uri == self.to_tuple(scheme_and_path_uri)