diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 2b7a252179..6a9d993fe8 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # ggplot2 (development version)
 
+* `geom_boxplot()`/`stat_boxplot()` gain a `quantile.type` parameter (default `7`) 
+   to control the percentile definition used for hinges and median; set `quantile.type = 2` 
+   to match SAS's default `PCTLDEF = 5`, enabling parity with SAS boxplots out-of-the-box. 
+   (@munoztd0, #6819)
 * `make_constructor()` no longer captures `rlang::list2()` at build time.
 * The `arrow` and `arrow.fill` arguments are now available in 
   `geom_linerange()` and `geom_pointrange()` layers (@teunbrand, #6481).
diff --git a/R/stat-boxplot.R b/R/stat-boxplot.R
index cfc137d4c3..5f199511f5 100644
--- a/R/stat-boxplot.R
+++ b/R/stat-boxplot.R
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ StatBoxplot <- ggproto("StatBoxplot", Stat,
 
   extra_params = c("na.rm", "orientation"),
 
-  compute_group = function(data, scales, width = NULL, na.rm = FALSE, coef = 1.5, flipped_aes = FALSE) {
+  compute_group = function(data, scales, width = NULL, na.rm = FALSE, coef = 1.5, flipped_aes = FALSE, quantile.type = 7) {
     data <- flip_data(data, flipped_aes)
     qs <- c(0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1)
 
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ StatBoxplot <- ggproto("StatBoxplot", Stat,
       mod <- quantreg::rq(y ~ 1, weights = weight, data = data, tau = qs)
       stats <- as.numeric(stats::coef(mod))
     } else {
-      stats <- as.numeric(stats::quantile(data$y, qs))
+      # Follow base R default (type = 7) unless overridden by user
+      stats <- as.numeric(stats::quantile(data$y, qs, type = quantile.type))
     }
     names(stats) <- c("ymin", "lower", "middle", "upper", "ymax")
     iqr <- diff(stats[c(2, 4)])
@@ -99,6 +100,8 @@ StatBoxplot <- ggproto("StatBoxplot", Stat,
 
 #' @rdname geom_boxplot
 #' @param coef Length of the whiskers as multiple of IQR. Defaults to 1.5.
+#' @param quantile.type An integer between 1 and 9 setting the quantile algorithm
+#'   per [`stats::quantile(type)`][stats::quantile]. Defaults to `7`
 #' @inheritParams shared_layer_parameters
 #' @export
 #' @eval rd_computed_vars(
diff --git a/man/geom_boxplot.Rd b/man/geom_boxplot.Rd
index 5f9962f6a0..f747628213 100644
--- a/man/geom_boxplot.Rd
+++ b/man/geom_boxplot.Rd
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ stat_boxplot(
   ...,
   orientation = NA,
   coef = 1.5,
+  quantile.type = 7,
   na.rm = FALSE,
   show.legend = NA,
   inherit.aes = TRUE
@@ -180,6 +181,9 @@ overriding these connections, see how the \link[=layer_stats]{stat} and
 \link[=layer_geoms]{geom} arguments work.}
 
 \item{coef}{Length of the whiskers as multiple of IQR. Defaults to 1.5.}
+
+\item{quantile.type}{An integer between 1 and 9 setting the quantile algorithm
+per \code{\link[stats:quantile]{stats::quantile(type)}}. Defaults to \code{7}}
 }
 \description{
 The boxplot compactly displays the distribution of a continuous variable.
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-geom-boxplot.R b/tests/testthat/test-geom-boxplot.R
index 82c45c3fb7..21fafc40ee 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-geom-boxplot.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-geom-boxplot.R
@@ -109,3 +109,32 @@ test_that("boxplot draws correctly", {
       )
   )
 })
+
+test_that("quantile.type changes hinges for small samples (unweighted)", {
+  df <- data_frame(x = 1, y = c(1, 2, 3, 4))
+
+  p_default <- ggplot(df, aes(x, y)) + stat_boxplot()
+  d_default <- get_layer_data(p_default)
+
+  p_t2 <- ggplot(df, aes(x, y)) + stat_boxplot(quantile.type = 2)
+  d_t2 <- get_layer_data(p_t2)
+
+  # Lower/upper hinges should differ under different quantile definitions
+  expect_false(isTRUE(all.equal(d_default$lower, d_t2$lower)))
+  expect_false(isTRUE(all.equal(d_default$upper, d_t2$upper)))
+})
+
+test_that("quantile.type = 7 matches default behavior (backward compatible)", {
+  set.seed(123)
+  df <- data_frame(x = 1, y = rnorm(25))
+
+  p_default <- ggplot(df, aes(x, y)) + stat_boxplot()
+  d_default <- get_layer_data(p_default)
+
+  p_t7 <- ggplot(df, aes(x, y)) + stat_boxplot(quantile.type = 7)
+  d_t7 <- get_layer_data(p_t7)
+
+  expect_equal(d_default$lower, d_t7$lower)
+  expect_equal(d_default$middle, d_t7$middle)
+  expect_equal(d_default$upper, d_t7$upper)
+})