diff --git a/runtime/context.go b/runtime/context.go
index 03a3015a82a..896057e1e1e 100644
--- a/runtime/context.go
+++ b/runtime/context.go
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 package runtime
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/base64"
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/textproto"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
-	"context"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/grpclog"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ const MetadataPrefix = "grpcgateway-"
 const MetadataTrailerPrefix = "Grpc-Trailer-"
 
 const metadataGrpcTimeout = "Grpc-Timeout"
+const metadataHeaderBinarySuffix = "-Bin"
 
 const xForwardedFor = "X-Forwarded-For"
 const xForwardedHost = "X-Forwarded-Host"
@@ -38,6 +41,14 @@ var (
 	DefaultContextTimeout = 0 * time.Second
 )
 
+func decodeBinHeader(v string) ([]byte, error) {
+	if len(v)%4 == 0 {
+		// Input was padded, or padding was not necessary.
+		return base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(v)
+	}
+	return base64.RawStdEncoding.DecodeString(v)
+}
+
 /*
 AnnotateContext adds context information such as metadata from the request.
 
@@ -58,11 +69,22 @@ func AnnotateContext(ctx context.Context, mux *ServeMux, req *http.Request) (con
 
 	for key, vals := range req.Header {
 		for _, val := range vals {
+			key = textproto.CanonicalMIMEHeaderKey(key)
 			// For backwards-compatibility, pass through 'authorization' header with no prefix.
-			if strings.ToLower(key) == "authorization" {
+			if key == "Authorization" {
 				pairs = append(pairs, "authorization", val)
 			}
 			if h, ok := mux.incomingHeaderMatcher(key); ok {
+				// Handles "-bin" metadata in grpc, since grpc will do another base64
+				// encode before sending to server, we need to decode it first.
+				if strings.HasSuffix(key, metadataHeaderBinarySuffix) {
+					b, err := decodeBinHeader(val)
+					if err != nil {
+						return nil, status.Errorf(codes.InvalidArgument, "invalid binary header %s: %s", key, err)
+					}
+
+					val = string(b)
+				}
 				pairs = append(pairs, h, val)
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/runtime/context_test.go b/runtime/context_test.go
index e78a037d033..5f752408a03 100644
--- a/runtime/context_test.go
+++ b/runtime/context_test.go
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 package runtime_test
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/base64"
 	"net/http"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	"context"
 	"github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-gateway/runtime"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
 )
@@ -68,6 +69,30 @@ func TestAnnotateContext_ForwardsGrpcMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestAnnotateContext_ForwardGrpcBinaryMetadata(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	request, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "http://www.example.com", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("http.NewRequest(%q, %q, nil) failed with %v; want success", "GET", "http://www.example.com", err)
+	}
+
+	binData := []byte("\x00test-binary-data")
+	request.Header.Add("Grpc-Metadata-Test-Bin", base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(binData))
+
+	annotated, err := runtime.AnnotateContext(ctx, runtime.NewServeMux(), request)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("runtime.AnnotateContext(ctx, %#v) failed with %v; want success", request, err)
+		return
+	}
+	md, ok := metadata.FromOutgoingContext(annotated)
+	if !ok || len(md) != emptyForwardMetaCount+1 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected %d metadata items in context; got %v", emptyForwardMetaCount+1, md)
+	}
+	if got, want := md["test-bin"], []string{string(binData)}; !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+		t.Errorf(`md["test-bin"] = %q want %q`, got, want)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestAnnotateContext_XForwardedFor(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	request, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "http://bar.foo.example.com", nil)
diff --git a/runtime/mux.go b/runtime/mux.go
index a184291e16a..8f7dd36b700 100644
--- a/runtime/mux.go
+++ b/runtime/mux.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package runtime
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
-	"net/textproto"
 	"strings"
 	"context"
 
@@ -51,7 +50,6 @@ type HeaderMatcherFunc func(string) (string, bool)
 // keys (as specified by the IANA) to gRPC context with grpcgateway- prefix. HTTP headers that start with
 // 'Grpc-Metadata-' are mapped to gRPC metadata after removing prefix 'Grpc-Metadata-'.
 func DefaultHeaderMatcher(key string) (string, bool) {
-	key = textproto.CanonicalMIMEHeaderKey(key)
 	if isPermanentHTTPHeader(key) {
 		return MetadataPrefix + key, true
 	} else if strings.HasPrefix(key, MetadataHeaderPrefix) {