diff --git a/client/pom.xml b/client/pom.xml
index 550b5fd47e..858c5f9ad7 100644
--- a/client/pom.xml
+++ b/client/pom.xml
@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@
       <artifactId>netty-transport-native-epoll</artifactId>
       <classifier>linux-x86_64</classifier>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>io.netty</groupId>
+      <artifactId>netty-transport-native-kqueue</artifactId>
+      <classifier>osx-x86_64</classifier>
+    </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>io.netty</groupId>
       <artifactId>netty-resolver-dns</artifactId>
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/ChannelManager.java b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/ChannelManager.java
index ac18269c28..eaa7032e41 100755
--- a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/ChannelManager.java
+++ b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/ChannelManager.java
@@ -16,10 +16,11 @@
 import io.netty.bootstrap.Bootstrap;
 import io.netty.buffer.ByteBufAllocator;
 import io.netty.channel.*;
+import io.netty.channel.epoll.EpollEventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.group.ChannelGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.group.DefaultChannelGroup;
+import io.netty.channel.kqueue.KQueueEventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoopGroup;
-import io.netty.channel.oio.OioEventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpClientCodec;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpContentDecompressor;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http.websocketx.WebSocket08FrameDecoder;
@@ -119,31 +120,31 @@ public ChannelManager(final AsyncHttpClientConfig config, Timer nettyTimer) {
     // check if external EventLoopGroup is defined
     ThreadFactory threadFactory = config.getThreadFactory() != null ? config.getThreadFactory() : new DefaultThreadFactory(config.getThreadPoolName());
     allowReleaseEventLoopGroup = config.getEventLoopGroup() == null;
-    ChannelFactory<? extends Channel> channelFactory;
+    TransportFactory<? extends Channel, ? extends EventLoopGroup> transportFactory;
     if (allowReleaseEventLoopGroup) {
       if (config.isUseNativeTransport()) {
-        eventLoopGroup = newEpollEventLoopGroup(config.getIoThreadsCount(), threadFactory);
-        channelFactory = getEpollSocketChannelFactory();
-
+        transportFactory = getNativeTransportFactory();
       } else {
-        eventLoopGroup = new NioEventLoopGroup(config.getIoThreadsCount(), threadFactory);
-        channelFactory = NioSocketChannelFactory.INSTANCE;
+        transportFactory = NioTransportFactory.INSTANCE;
       }
+      eventLoopGroup = transportFactory.newEventLoopGroup(config.getIoThreadsCount(), threadFactory);
 
     } else {
       eventLoopGroup = config.getEventLoopGroup();
-      if (eventLoopGroup instanceof OioEventLoopGroup)
-        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Oio is not supported");
 
       if (eventLoopGroup instanceof NioEventLoopGroup) {
-        channelFactory = NioSocketChannelFactory.INSTANCE;
+        transportFactory = NioTransportFactory.INSTANCE;
+      } else if (eventLoopGroup instanceof EpollEventLoopGroup) {
+        transportFactory = new EpollTransportFactory();
+      } else if (eventLoopGroup instanceof KQueueEventLoopGroup) {
+        transportFactory = new KQueueTransportFactory();
       } else {
-        channelFactory = getEpollSocketChannelFactory();
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown event loop group " + eventLoopGroup.getClass().getSimpleName());
       }
     }
 
-    httpBootstrap = newBootstrap(channelFactory, eventLoopGroup, config);
-    wsBootstrap = newBootstrap(channelFactory, eventLoopGroup, config);
+    httpBootstrap = newBootstrap(transportFactory, eventLoopGroup, config);
+    wsBootstrap = newBootstrap(transportFactory, eventLoopGroup, config);
 
     // for reactive streams
     httpBootstrap.option(ChannelOption.AUTO_READ, false);
@@ -184,21 +185,16 @@ private Bootstrap newBootstrap(ChannelFactory<? extends Channel> channelFactory,
     return bootstrap;
   }
 
-  private EventLoopGroup newEpollEventLoopGroup(int ioThreadsCount, ThreadFactory threadFactory) {
-    try {
-      Class<?> epollEventLoopGroupClass = Class.forName("io.netty.channel.epoll.EpollEventLoopGroup");
-      return (EventLoopGroup) epollEventLoopGroupClass.getConstructor(int.class, ThreadFactory.class).newInstance(ioThreadsCount, threadFactory);
-    } catch (Exception e) {
-      throw new IllegalArgumentException(e);
-    }
-  }
-
   @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-  private ChannelFactory<? extends Channel> getEpollSocketChannelFactory() {
+  private TransportFactory<? extends Channel, ? extends EventLoopGroup> getNativeTransportFactory() {
     try {
-      return (ChannelFactory<? extends Channel>) Class.forName("org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel.EpollSocketChannelFactory").newInstance();
+      return (TransportFactory<? extends Channel, ? extends EventLoopGroup>) Class.forName("org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel.EpollTransportFactory").newInstance();
     } catch (Exception e) {
-      throw new IllegalArgumentException(e);
+      try {
+        return (TransportFactory<? extends Channel, ? extends EventLoopGroup>) Class.forName("org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel.KQueueTransportFactory").newInstance();
+      } catch (Exception e1) {
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException("No suitable native transport (epoll or kqueue) available");
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollTransportFactory.java b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollTransportFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8f84272916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollTransportFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2016 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This program is licensed to you under the Apache License Version 2.0,
+ * and you may not use this file except in compliance with the Apache License Version 2.0.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the Apache License Version 2.0 at
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the Apache License Version 2.0 is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the Apache License Version 2.0 for the specific language governing permissions and limitations there under.
+ */
+package org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel;
+
+import io.netty.channel.epoll.Epoll;
+import io.netty.channel.epoll.EpollEventLoopGroup;
+import io.netty.channel.epoll.EpollSocketChannel;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
+
+class EpollTransportFactory implements TransportFactory<EpollSocketChannel, EpollEventLoopGroup> {
+
+  EpollTransportFactory() {
+    try {
+      Class.forName("io.netty.channel.epoll.Epoll");
+    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException("The epoll transport is not available");
+    }
+    if (!Epoll.isAvailable()) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException("The epoll transport is not supported");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public EpollSocketChannel newChannel() {
+    return new EpollSocketChannel();
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public EpollEventLoopGroup newEventLoopGroup(int ioThreadsCount, ThreadFactory threadFactory) {
+    return new EpollEventLoopGroup(ioThreadsCount, threadFactory);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/KQueueTransportFactory.java b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/KQueueTransportFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f54fe46157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/KQueueTransportFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2019 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This program is licensed to you under the Apache License Version 2.0,
+ * and you may not use this file except in compliance with the Apache License Version 2.0.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the Apache License Version 2.0 at
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the Apache License Version 2.0 is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the Apache License Version 2.0 for the specific language governing permissions and limitations there under.
+ */
+package org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel;
+
+import io.netty.channel.kqueue.KQueue;
+import io.netty.channel.kqueue.KQueueEventLoopGroup;
+import io.netty.channel.kqueue.KQueueSocketChannel;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
+
+class KQueueTransportFactory implements TransportFactory<KQueueSocketChannel, KQueueEventLoopGroup> {
+
+  KQueueTransportFactory() {
+    try {
+      Class.forName("io.netty.channel.kqueue.KQueue");
+    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException("The kqueue transport is not available");
+    }
+    if (!KQueue.isAvailable()) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException("The kqueue transport is not supported");
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public KQueueSocketChannel newChannel() {
+    return new KQueueSocketChannel();
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public KQueueEventLoopGroup newEventLoopGroup(int ioThreadsCount, ThreadFactory threadFactory) {
+    return new KQueueEventLoopGroup(ioThreadsCount, threadFactory);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollSocketChannelFactory.java b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioTransportFactory.java
similarity index 55%
rename from client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollSocketChannelFactory.java
rename to client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioTransportFactory.java
index c6970b6d6c..d691ff270a 100644
--- a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/EpollSocketChannelFactory.java
+++ b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioTransportFactory.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2016 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2019 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This program is licensed to you under the Apache License Version 2.0,
  * and you may not use this file except in compliance with the Apache License Version 2.0.
@@ -13,13 +13,22 @@
  */
 package org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel;
 
-import io.netty.channel.ChannelFactory;
-import io.netty.channel.epoll.EpollSocketChannel;
+import io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoopGroup;
+import io.netty.channel.socket.nio.NioSocketChannel;
 
-class EpollSocketChannelFactory implements ChannelFactory<EpollSocketChannel> {
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
+
+enum NioTransportFactory implements TransportFactory<NioSocketChannel, NioEventLoopGroup> {
+
+  INSTANCE;
+
+  @Override
+  public NioSocketChannel newChannel() {
+    return new NioSocketChannel();
+  }
 
   @Override
-  public EpollSocketChannel newChannel() {
-    return new EpollSocketChannel();
+  public NioEventLoopGroup newEventLoopGroup(int ioThreadsCount, ThreadFactory threadFactory) {
+    return new NioEventLoopGroup(ioThreadsCount, threadFactory);
   }
 }
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioSocketChannelFactory.java b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/TransportFactory.java
similarity index 67%
rename from client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioSocketChannelFactory.java
rename to client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/TransportFactory.java
index 907623bba6..76f45c2d28 100644
--- a/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/NioSocketChannelFactory.java
+++ b/client/src/main/java/org/asynchttpclient/netty/channel/TransportFactory.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2016 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2019 AsyncHttpClient Project. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This program is licensed to you under the Apache License Version 2.0,
  * and you may not use this file except in compliance with the Apache License Version 2.0.
@@ -13,15 +13,14 @@
  */
 package org.asynchttpclient.netty.channel;
 
+import io.netty.channel.Channel;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelFactory;
-import io.netty.channel.socket.nio.NioSocketChannel;
+import io.netty.channel.EventLoopGroup;
 
-enum NioSocketChannelFactory implements ChannelFactory<NioSocketChannel> {
+import java.util.concurrent.ThreadFactory;
 
-  INSTANCE;
+public interface TransportFactory<C extends Channel, L extends EventLoopGroup> extends ChannelFactory<C> {
+
+  L newEventLoopGroup(int ioThreadsCount, ThreadFactory threadFactory);
 
-  @Override
-  public NioSocketChannel newChannel() {
-    return new NioSocketChannel();
-  }
 }
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 6004c2c2db..fdcfde0e5d 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -299,6 +299,13 @@
         <version>${netty.version}</version>
         <optional>true</optional>
       </dependency>
+      <dependency>
+        <groupId>io.netty</groupId>
+        <artifactId>netty-transport-native-kqueue</artifactId>
+        <classifier>osx-x86_64</classifier>
+        <version>${netty.version}</version>
+        <optional>true</optional>
+      </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>org.reactivestreams</groupId>
         <artifactId>reactive-streams</artifactId>