diff --git a/apps/ui-tests-app/font/tab-view.xml b/apps/ui-tests-app/font/tab-view.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d52ed3ef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/ui-tests-app/font/tab-view.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<Page xmlns="http://schemas.nativescript.org/tns.xsd">
+  <TabView style="font-family: FontAwesome;color: red;" selectedColor="green">
+    <TabView.items>
+      <TabViewItem ios:title="Tab 1 &#xf179;" android:title="Tab 1 &#xf17b;">
+        <TabViewItem.view>
+          <Label text="Tab 1" />
+        </TabViewItem.view>
+      </TabViewItem>
+      <TabViewItem ios:title="Tab 2 &#xf179;" android:title="Tab 2 &#xf17b;">
+        <TabViewItem.view>
+          <Label text="Tab 2" />
+        </TabViewItem.view>
+      </TabViewItem>
+    </TabView.items>
+  </TabView>
+</Page>
diff --git a/ui/styling/style.ts b/ui/styling/style.ts
index 1a0c3ceb4..acd771cb5 100644
--- a/ui/styling/style.ts
+++ b/ui/styling/style.ts
@@ -417,6 +417,13 @@ export class Style extends DependencyObservable implements styling.Style {
         this._setShorthandProperty("font", value);
     }
 
+    get _fontInternal(): font.Font {
+        return this._getValue(fontInternalProperty);
+    }
+    set _fontInternal(value: font.Font) {
+        this._setValue(fontInternalProperty, value);
+    }
+
     get textAlignment(): string {
         return this._getValue(textAlignmentProperty);
     }
diff --git a/ui/styling/stylers.android.ts b/ui/styling/stylers.android.ts
index 42d03f21a..4405d5492 100644
--- a/ui/styling/stylers.android.ts
+++ b/ui/styling/stylers.android.ts
@@ -533,7 +533,7 @@ function setTextDecoration(view: android.widget.TextView, value: string) {
         view.setPaintFlags(flags);
     } else {
         view.setPaintFlags(0);
-    }   
+    }
 }
 
 function setTextTransform(view: android.widget.TextView, value: string) {
@@ -1016,11 +1016,72 @@ export class TabViewStyler implements definition.stylers.Styler {
         }
     }
 
+    // font
+    private static setFontInternalProperty(view: view.View, newValue: any, nativeValue: any) {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+        var fontValue = <font.Font>newValue;
+        var typeface = fontValue.getAndroidTypeface();
+
+        if (tab.items && tab.items.length > 0) {
+            var tabLayout = tab._getAndroidTabView();
+
+            for (var i = 0; i < tab.items.length; i++) {
+                let tv = tabLayout.getTextViewForItemAt(i);
+                if (typeface) {
+                    tv.setTypeface(typeface);
+                }
+                else {
+                    tv.setTypeface(nativeValue.typeface);
+                }
+
+                if (fontValue.fontSize) {
+                    tv.setTextSize(fontValue.fontSize);
+                }
+                else {
+                    tv.setTextSize(android.util.TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, nativeValue.size);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static resetFontInternalProperty(view: view.View, nativeValue: any) {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+
+        if (tab.items && tab.items.length > 0) {
+            var tabLayout = tab._getAndroidTabView();
+
+            for (var i = 0; i < tab.items.length; i++) {
+                let tv = tabLayout.getTextViewForItemAt(i);
+                tv.setTypeface(nativeValue.typeface);
+                tv.setTextSize(android.util.TypedValue.COMPLEX_UNIT_PX, nativeValue.size);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static getNativeFontInternalValue(view: view.View): any {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+        var tv: android.widget.TextView = tab._getAndroidTabView().getTextViewForItemAt(0);
+        if (tv) {
+            return {
+                typeface: tv.getTypeface(),
+                size: tv.getTextSize()
+            }
+        }
+        else {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
     public static registerHandlers() {
         style.registerHandler(style.colorProperty, new stylersCommon.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
             TabViewStyler.setColorProperty,
             TabViewStyler.resetColorProperty,
             TabViewStyler.getColorProperty), "TabView");
+
+        style.registerHandler(style.fontInternalProperty, new stylersCommon.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
+            TabViewStyler.setFontInternalProperty,
+            TabViewStyler.resetFontInternalProperty,
+            TabViewStyler.getNativeFontInternalValue), "TabView");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/ui/styling/stylers.ios.ts b/ui/styling/stylers.ios.ts
index e30105666..8c01210f0 100644
--- a/ui/styling/stylers.ios.ts
+++ b/ui/styling/stylers.ios.ts
@@ -921,18 +921,53 @@ export class TabViewStyler implements definition.stylers.Styler {
     // color
     private static setColorProperty(view: view.View, newValue: any) {
         var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
-        tab._updateIOSTabBarColors();
+        tab._updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts();
     }
 
     private static resetColorProperty(view: view.View, nativeValue: any) {
         var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
-        tab._updateIOSTabBarColors();
+        tab._updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts();
+    }
+
+    // font
+    private static setFontInternalProperty(view: view.View, newValue: any, nativeValue: any) {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+        tab._updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts();
+    }
+
+    private static resetFontInternalProperty(view: view.View, nativeValue: any) {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+        tab._updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts();
+    }
+
+    private static getNativeFontValue(view: view.View) {
+        var tab = <tabView.TabView>view;
+
+        let currentFont;
+
+        if (tab.ios && tab.ios.items && tab.ios.items.length > 0) {
+            let currentAttrs = tab.ios.items[0].titleTextAttributesForState(UIControlState.UIControlStateNormal);
+            if (currentAttrs) {
+                currentFont = currentAttrs.objectForKey(NSFontAttributeName);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (!currentFont) {
+            currentFont = UIFont.systemFontOfSize(UIFont.labelFontSize());
+        }
+
+        return currentFont;
     }
 
     public static registerHandlers() {
         style.registerHandler(style.colorProperty, new stylersCommon.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
             TabViewStyler.setColorProperty,
             TabViewStyler.resetColorProperty), "TabView");
+
+        style.registerHandler(style.fontInternalProperty, new stylersCommon.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
+            TabViewStyler.setFontInternalProperty,
+            TabViewStyler.resetFontInternalProperty,
+            TabViewStyler.getNativeFontValue), "TabView");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/ui/tab-view/tab-view-common.ts b/ui/tab-view/tab-view-common.ts
index 00736e749..04d4dbe30 100644
--- a/ui/tab-view/tab-view-common.ts
+++ b/ui/tab-view/tab-view-common.ts
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ export class TabView extends view.View implements definition.TabView, view.AddAr
         return undefined;
     }
 
-    public _updateIOSTabBarColors(): void {
+    public _updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts(): void {
         // iOS sepcific
     }
 } 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ui/tab-view/tab-view.d.ts b/ui/tab-view/tab-view.d.ts
index c19169fae..2a0d71224 100644
--- a/ui/tab-view/tab-view.d.ts
+++ b/ui/tab-view/tab-view.d.ts
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ declare module "ui/tab-view" {
 
         //@private
         _getAndroidTabView(): any /* org.nativescript.widgets.TabLayout */;
-        _updateIOSTabBarColors(): void;
+        _updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts(): void;
         //@endprivate
     }
 }
diff --git a/ui/tab-view/tab-view.ios.ts b/ui/tab-view/tab-view.ios.ts
index 54038e1e9..fd75b46b2 100644
--- a/ui/tab-view/tab-view.ios.ts
+++ b/ui/tab-view/tab-view.ios.ts
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export class TabViewItem extends common.TabViewItem {
 
 function selectedColorPropertyChanged(data: dependencyObservable.PropertyChangeData) {
     var tabView = <TabView>data.object;
-    tabView._updateIOSTabBarColors();
+    tabView._updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts();
 }
 (<proxy.PropertyMetadata>common.TabView.selectedColorProperty.metadata).onSetNativeValue = selectedColorPropertyChanged;
 
@@ -322,14 +322,14 @@ export class TabView extends common.TabView {
             (heightMode === utils.layout.UNSPECIFIED) ? Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY : height));
     }
 
-    public _updateIOSTabBarColors(): void {
+    public _updateIOSTabBarColorsAndFonts(): void {
         if (!this.items) {
             return;
         }
 
         var tabBar = this.ios.tabBar;
 
-        tabBar.tintColor = this.selectedColor ? this.selectedColor.ios : null; 
+        tabBar.tintColor = this.selectedColor ? this.selectedColor.ios : null;
         var states = getTitleAttributesForStates(this);
 
         for (var i = 0; i < this.items.length; i++) {
@@ -354,8 +354,13 @@ function getTitleAttributesForStates(tabView: TabView): { normalState: any, sele
         selectedState[UITextAttributeTextColor] = tabView.ios.tabBar.tintColor;
     }
 
+    var defaultFont = UIFont.systemFontOfSize(UIFont.labelFontSize());
+    var font = (<any>tabView.style)._fontInternal.getUIFont(defaultFont);
+    normalState[NSFontAttributeName] = font;
+    selectedState[NSFontAttributeName] = font;
+
     return {
         normalState: normalState,
         selectedState: selectedState
     };
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file