diff --git a/kafka/producer/kafka.py b/kafka/producer/kafka.py
index dd1cc508c..1e51f1cf1 100644
--- a/kafka/producer/kafka.py
+++ b/kafka/producer/kafka.py
@@ -469,6 +469,8 @@ def close(self, timeout=None):
             timeout (float, optional): timeout in seconds to wait for completion.
         """
 
+        # If there are any pending messages, send them now
+        self.flush(timeout)
         # drop our atexit handler now to avoid leaks
         self._unregister_cleanup()