diff --git a/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_config.py b/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_config.py
index a02f7f2130ef..d21fd378148b 100644
--- a/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_config.py
+++ b/nova/tests/unit/virt/libvirt/test_config.py
@@ -338,6 +338,26 @@ class LibvirtConfigCPUFeatureTest(LibvirtConfigBaseTest):
             <feature name="mtrr"/>
         """)
 
+    def test_config_parse_require(self):
+        xml = """
+            <feature name="mtrr" policy="require"/>
+        """
+        xmldoc = etree.fromstring(xml)
+        obj = config.LibvirtConfigCPUFeature()
+        obj.parse_dom(xmldoc)
+
+        self.assertEqual(obj.policy, "require")
+
+    def test_config_parse_disable(self):
+        xml = """
+            <feature name="mtrr" policy="disable"/>
+        """
+        xmldoc = etree.fromstring(xml)
+        obj = config.LibvirtConfigCPUFeature()
+        obj.parse_dom(xmldoc)
+
+        self.assertEqual(obj.policy, "disable")
+
 
 class LibvirtConfigGuestCPUFeatureTest(LibvirtConfigBaseTest):
 
@@ -436,6 +456,27 @@ class LibvirtConfigCPUTest(LibvirtConfigBaseTest):
             </cpu>
         """)
 
+    def test_config_disabled_features(self):
+        obj = config.LibvirtConfigCPU()
+        obj.model = "Penryn"
+        obj.vendor = "Intel"
+        obj.arch = obj_fields.Architecture.X86_64
+
+        disabled_feature = config.LibvirtConfigCPUFeature("mtrr")
+        disabled_feature.policy = "disable"
+        obj.add_feature(disabled_feature)
+        obj.add_feature(config.LibvirtConfigCPUFeature("apic"))
+
+        xml = obj.to_xml()
+        self.assertXmlEqual(xml, """
+            <cpu>
+              <arch>x86_64</arch>
+              <model>Penryn</model>
+              <vendor>Intel</vendor>
+              <feature name="apic"/>
+            </cpu>
+        """)
+
     def test_only_uniq_cpu_featues(self):
         obj = config.LibvirtConfigCPU()
         obj.model = "Penryn"
diff --git a/nova/virt/libvirt/config.py b/nova/virt/libvirt/config.py
index 23ecb2ccfda7..9ab5136bae29 100644
--- a/nova/virt/libvirt/config.py
+++ b/nova/virt/libvirt/config.py
@@ -674,11 +674,13 @@ class LibvirtConfigCPUFeature(LibvirtConfigObject):
                                                       **kwargs)
 
         self.name = name
+        self.policy = "require"
 
     def parse_dom(self, xmldoc):
         super(LibvirtConfigCPUFeature, self).parse_dom(xmldoc)
 
         self.name = xmldoc.get("name")
+        self.policy = xmldoc.get("policy", "require")
 
     def format_dom(self):
         ft = super(LibvirtConfigCPUFeature, self).format_dom()
@@ -730,7 +732,8 @@ class LibvirtConfigCPU(LibvirtConfigObject):
             elif c.tag == "feature":
                 f = LibvirtConfigCPUFeature()
                 f.parse_dom(c)
-                self.add_feature(f)
+                if f.policy != "disable":
+                    self.add_feature(f)
 
     def format_dom(self):
         cpu = super(LibvirtConfigCPU, self).format_dom()
@@ -753,7 +756,8 @@ class LibvirtConfigCPU(LibvirtConfigObject):
 
         # sorting the features to allow more predictable tests
         for f in sorted(self.features, key=lambda x: x.name):
-            cpu.append(f.format_dom())
+            if f.policy != "disable":
+                cpu.append(f.format_dom())
 
         return cpu