diff --git a/core/state/dump.go b/core/state/dump.go
index 6338ddf88d..ffa1a72832 100644
--- a/core/state/dump.go
+++ b/core/state/dump.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (self *StateDB) RawDump() Dump {
 		Accounts: make(map[string]DumpAccount),
 	}
 
-	it := trie.NewIterator(self.trie.NodeIterator())
+	it := trie.NewIterator(self.trie.NodeIterator(nil))
 	for it.Next() {
 		addr := self.trie.GetKey(it.Key)
 		var data Account
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func (self *StateDB) RawDump() Dump {
 			Code:     common.Bytes2Hex(obj.Code(self.db)),
 			Storage:  make(map[string]string),
 		}
-		storageIt := trie.NewIterator(obj.getTrie(self.db).NodeIterator())
+		storageIt := trie.NewIterator(obj.getTrie(self.db).NodeIterator(nil))
 		for storageIt.Next() {
 			account.Storage[common.Bytes2Hex(self.trie.GetKey(storageIt.Key))] = common.Bytes2Hex(storageIt.Value)
 		}
diff --git a/core/state/iterator.go b/core/state/iterator.go
index d2dd5a74e6..a8a2722ae3 100644
--- a/core/state/iterator.go
+++ b/core/state/iterator.go
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func (it *NodeIterator) step() error {
 	}
 	// Initialize the iterator if we've just started
 	if it.stateIt == nil {
-		it.stateIt = it.state.trie.NodeIterator()
+		it.stateIt = it.state.trie.NodeIterator(nil)
 	}
 	// If we had data nodes previously, we surely have at least state nodes
 	if it.dataIt != nil {
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ func (it *NodeIterator) step() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	it.dataIt = dataTrie.NodeIterator()
+	it.dataIt = dataTrie.NodeIterator(nil)
 	if !it.dataIt.Next(true) {
 		it.dataIt = nil
 	}
diff --git a/core/state/statedb.go b/core/state/statedb.go
index 24381ced5d..431f33e023 100644
--- a/core/state/statedb.go
+++ b/core/state/statedb.go
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ func (db *StateDB) ForEachStorage(addr common.Address, cb func(key, value common
 		cb(h, value)
 	}
 
-	it := trie.NewIterator(so.getTrie(db.db).NodeIterator())
+	it := trie.NewIterator(so.getTrie(db.db).NodeIterator(nil))
 	for it.Next() {
 		// ignore cached values
 		key := common.BytesToHash(db.trie.GetKey(it.Key))
diff --git a/trie/iterator.go b/trie/iterator.go
index fef5b2593f..26ae1d5ad7 100644
--- a/trie/iterator.go
+++ b/trie/iterator.go
@@ -19,10 +19,13 @@ package trie
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"container/heap"
+	"errors"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 )
 
+var iteratorEnd = errors.New("end of iteration")
+
 // Iterator is a key-value trie iterator that traverses a Trie.
 type Iterator struct {
 	nodeIt NodeIterator
@@ -79,25 +82,24 @@ type nodeIteratorState struct {
 	hash    common.Hash // Hash of the node being iterated (nil if not standalone)
 	node    node        // Trie node being iterated
 	parent  common.Hash // Hash of the first full ancestor node (nil if current is the root)
-	child   int         // Child to be processed next
+	index   int         // Child to be processed next
 	pathlen int         // Length of the path to this node
 }
 
 type nodeIterator struct {
 	trie  *Trie                // Trie being iterated
 	stack []*nodeIteratorState // Hierarchy of trie nodes persisting the iteration state
-
-	err error // Failure set in case of an internal error in the iterator
-
-	path []byte // Path to the current node
+	err   error                // Failure set in case of an internal error in the iterator
+	path  []byte               // Path to the current node
 }
 
-// newNodeIterator creates an post-order trie iterator.
-func newNodeIterator(trie *Trie) NodeIterator {
+func newNodeIterator(trie *Trie, start []byte) NodeIterator {
 	if trie.Hash() == emptyState {
 		return new(nodeIterator)
 	}
-	return &nodeIterator{trie: trie}
+	it := &nodeIterator{trie: trie}
+	it.seek(start)
+	return it
 }
 
 // Hash returns the hash of the current node
@@ -147,6 +149,9 @@ func (it *nodeIterator) Path() []byte {
 
 // Error returns the error set in case of an internal error in the iterator
 func (it *nodeIterator) Error() error {
+	if it.err == iteratorEnd {
+		return nil
+	}
 	return it.err
 }
 
@@ -155,47 +160,54 @@ func (it *nodeIterator) Error() error {
 // sets the Error field to the encountered failure. If `descend` is false,
 // skips iterating over any subnodes of the current node.
 func (it *nodeIterator) Next(descend bool) bool {
-	// If the iterator failed previously, don't do anything
 	if it.err != nil {
 		return false
 	}
 	// Otherwise step forward with the iterator and report any errors
-	if err := it.step(descend); err != nil {
+	state, parentIndex, path, err := it.peek(descend)
+	if err != nil {
 		it.err = err
 		return false
 	}
-	return it.trie != nil
+	it.push(state, parentIndex, path)
+	return true
 }
 
-// step moves the iterator to the next node of the trie.
-func (it *nodeIterator) step(descend bool) error {
-	if it.trie == nil {
-		// Abort if we reached the end of the iteration
-		return nil
+func (it *nodeIterator) seek(prefix []byte) {
+	// The path we're looking for is the hex encoded key without terminator.
+	key := keybytesToHex(prefix)
+	key = key[:len(key)-1]
+	// Move forward until we're just before the closest match to key.
+	for {
+		state, parentIndex, path, err := it.peek(bytes.HasPrefix(key, it.path))
+		if err != nil || bytes.Compare(path, key) >= 0 {
+			it.err = err
+			return
+		}
+		it.push(state, parentIndex, path)
 	}
+}
+
+// peek creates the next state of the iterator.
+func (it *nodeIterator) peek(descend bool) (*nodeIteratorState, *int, []byte, error) {
 	if len(it.stack) == 0 {
 		// Initialize the iterator if we've just started.
 		root := it.trie.Hash()
-		state := &nodeIteratorState{node: it.trie.root, child: -1}
+		state := &nodeIteratorState{node: it.trie.root, index: -1}
 		if root != emptyRoot {
 			state.hash = root
 		}
-		it.stack = append(it.stack, state)
-		return nil
+		return state, nil, nil, nil
 	}
-
 	if !descend {
 		// If we're skipping children, pop the current node first
-		it.path = it.path[:it.stack[len(it.stack)-1].pathlen]
-		it.stack = it.stack[:len(it.stack)-1]
+		it.pop()
 	}
 
 	// Continue iteration to the next child
-outer:
 	for {
 		if len(it.stack) == 0 {
-			it.trie = nil
-			return nil
+			return nil, nil, nil, iteratorEnd
 		}
 		parent := it.stack[len(it.stack)-1]
 		ancestor := parent.hash
@@ -203,63 +215,76 @@ outer:
 			ancestor = parent.parent
 		}
 		if node, ok := parent.node.(*fullNode); ok {
-			// Full node, iterate over children
-			for parent.child++; parent.child < len(node.Children); parent.child++ {
-				child := node.Children[parent.child]
+			// Full node, move to the first non-nil child.
+			for i := parent.index + 1; i < len(node.Children); i++ {
+				child := node.Children[i]
 				if child != nil {
 					hash, _ := child.cache()
-					it.stack = append(it.stack, &nodeIteratorState{
+					state := &nodeIteratorState{
 						hash:    common.BytesToHash(hash),
 						node:    child,
 						parent:  ancestor,
-						child:   -1,
+						index:   -1,
 						pathlen: len(it.path),
-					})
-					it.path = append(it.path, byte(parent.child))
-					break outer
+					}
+					path := append(it.path, byte(i))
+					parent.index = i - 1
+					return state, &parent.index, path, nil
 				}
 			}
 		} else if node, ok := parent.node.(*shortNode); ok {
 			// Short node, return the pointer singleton child
-			if parent.child < 0 {
-				parent.child++
+			if parent.index < 0 {
 				hash, _ := node.Val.cache()
-				it.stack = append(it.stack, &nodeIteratorState{
+				state := &nodeIteratorState{
 					hash:    common.BytesToHash(hash),
 					node:    node.Val,
 					parent:  ancestor,
-					child:   -1,
+					index:   -1,
 					pathlen: len(it.path),
-				})
+				}
+				var path []byte
 				if hasTerm(node.Key) {
-					it.path = append(it.path, node.Key[:len(node.Key)-1]...)
+					path = append(it.path, node.Key[:len(node.Key)-1]...)
 				} else {
-					it.path = append(it.path, node.Key...)
+					path = append(it.path, node.Key...)
 				}
-				break
+				return state, &parent.index, path, nil
 			}
 		} else if hash, ok := parent.node.(hashNode); ok {
 			// Hash node, resolve the hash child from the database
-			if parent.child < 0 {
-				parent.child++
+			if parent.index < 0 {
 				node, err := it.trie.resolveHash(hash, nil, nil)
 				if err != nil {
-					return err
+					return it.stack[len(it.stack)-1], &parent.index, it.path, err
 				}
-				it.stack = append(it.stack, &nodeIteratorState{
+				state := &nodeIteratorState{
 					hash:    common.BytesToHash(hash),
 					node:    node,
 					parent:  ancestor,
-					child:   -1,
+					index:   -1,
 					pathlen: len(it.path),
-				})
-				break
+				}
+				return state, &parent.index, it.path, nil
 			}
 		}
-		it.path = it.path[:parent.pathlen]
-		it.stack = it.stack[:len(it.stack)-1]
+		// No more child nodes, move back up.
+		it.pop()
 	}
-	return nil
+}
+
+func (it *nodeIterator) push(state *nodeIteratorState, parentIndex *int, path []byte) {
+	it.path = path
+	it.stack = append(it.stack, state)
+	if parentIndex != nil {
+		*parentIndex += 1
+	}
+}
+
+func (it *nodeIterator) pop() {
+	parent := it.stack[len(it.stack)-1]
+	it.path = it.path[:parent.pathlen]
+	it.stack = it.stack[:len(it.stack)-1]
 }
 
 func compareNodes(a, b NodeIterator) int {
diff --git a/trie/iterator_test.go b/trie/iterator_test.go
index 04d51aaf5f..f161fd99d8 100644
--- a/trie/iterator_test.go
+++ b/trie/iterator_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 package trie
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ func TestIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	trie.Commit()
 
 	found := make(map[string]string)
-	it := NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator())
+	it := NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator(nil))
 	for it.Next() {
 		found[string(it.Key)] = string(it.Value)
 	}
@@ -72,7 +74,7 @@ func TestIteratorLargeData(t *testing.T) {
 		vals[string(value2.k)] = value2
 	}
 
-	it := NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator())
+	it := NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator(nil))
 	for it.Next() {
 		vals[string(it.Key)].t = true
 	}
@@ -99,7 +101,7 @@ func TestNodeIteratorCoverage(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Gather all the node hashes found by the iterator
 	hashes := make(map[common.Hash]struct{})
-	for it := trie.NodeIterator(); it.Next(true); {
+	for it := trie.NodeIterator(nil); it.Next(true); {
 		if it.Hash() != (common.Hash{}) {
 			hashes[it.Hash()] = struct{}{}
 		}
@@ -117,18 +119,20 @@ func TestNodeIteratorCoverage(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-var testdata1 = []struct{ k, v string }{
-	{"bar", "b"},
+type kvs struct{ k, v string }
+
+var testdata1 = []kvs{
 	{"barb", "ba"},
-	{"bars", "bb"},
 	{"bard", "bc"},
+	{"bars", "bb"},
+	{"bar", "b"},
 	{"fab", "z"},
-	{"foo", "a"},
 	{"food", "ab"},
 	{"foos", "aa"},
+	{"foo", "a"},
 }
 
-var testdata2 = []struct{ k, v string }{
+var testdata2 = []kvs{
 	{"aardvark", "c"},
 	{"bar", "b"},
 	{"barb", "bd"},
@@ -140,6 +144,47 @@ var testdata2 = []struct{ k, v string }{
 	{"jars", "d"},
 }
 
+func TestIteratorSeek(t *testing.T) {
+	trie := newEmpty()
+	for _, val := range testdata1 {
+		trie.Update([]byte(val.k), []byte(val.v))
+	}
+
+	// Seek to the middle.
+	it := NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator([]byte("fab")))
+	if err := checkIteratorOrder(testdata1[4:], it); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// Seek to a non-existent key.
+	it = NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator([]byte("barc")))
+	if err := checkIteratorOrder(testdata1[1:], it); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// Seek beyond the end.
+	it = NewIterator(trie.NodeIterator([]byte("z")))
+	if err := checkIteratorOrder(nil, it); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func checkIteratorOrder(want []kvs, it *Iterator) error {
+	for it.Next() {
+		if len(want) == 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("didn't expect any more values, got key %q", it.Key)
+		}
+		if !bytes.Equal(it.Key, []byte(want[0].k)) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("wrong key: got %q, want %q", it.Key, want[0].k)
+		}
+		want = want[1:]
+	}
+	if len(want) > 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("iterator ended early, want key %q", want[0])
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func TestDifferenceIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	triea := newEmpty()
 	for _, val := range testdata1 {
@@ -154,7 +199,7 @@ func TestDifferenceIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	trieb.Commit()
 
 	found := make(map[string]string)
-	di, _ := NewDifferenceIterator(triea.NodeIterator(), trieb.NodeIterator())
+	di, _ := NewDifferenceIterator(triea.NodeIterator(nil), trieb.NodeIterator(nil))
 	it := NewIterator(di)
 	for it.Next() {
 		found[string(it.Key)] = string(it.Value)
@@ -189,7 +234,7 @@ func TestUnionIterator(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	trieb.Commit()
 
-	di, _ := NewUnionIterator([]NodeIterator{triea.NodeIterator(), trieb.NodeIterator()})
+	di, _ := NewUnionIterator([]NodeIterator{triea.NodeIterator(nil), trieb.NodeIterator(nil)})
 	it := NewIterator(di)
 
 	all := []struct{ k, v string }{
diff --git a/trie/secure_trie.go b/trie/secure_trie.go
index 201716d189..37d1d4b092 100644
--- a/trie/secure_trie.go
+++ b/trie/secure_trie.go
@@ -156,8 +156,10 @@ func (t *SecureTrie) Root() []byte {
 	return t.trie.Root()
 }
 
-func (t *SecureTrie) NodeIterator() NodeIterator {
-	return t.trie.NodeIterator()
+// NodeIterator returns an iterator that returns nodes of the underlying trie. Iteration
+// starts at the key after the given start key.
+func (t *SecureTrie) NodeIterator(start []byte) NodeIterator {
+	return t.trie.NodeIterator(start)
 }
 
 // CommitTo writes all nodes and the secure hash pre-images to the given database.
diff --git a/trie/sync_test.go b/trie/sync_test.go
index 6d345ad3f4..1e27cbb676 100644
--- a/trie/sync_test.go
+++ b/trie/sync_test.go
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func checkTrieConsistency(db Database, root common.Hash) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil // // Consider a non existent state consistent
 	}
-	it := trie.NodeIterator()
+	it := trie.NodeIterator(nil)
 	for it.Next(true) {
 	}
 	return it.Error()
diff --git a/trie/trie.go b/trie/trie.go
index dbffc0ac3f..5759f97e3a 100644
--- a/trie/trie.go
+++ b/trie/trie.go
@@ -125,9 +125,10 @@ func New(root common.Hash, db Database) (*Trie, error) {
 	return trie, nil
 }
 
-// Iterator returns an iterator over all mappings in the trie.
-func (t *Trie) NodeIterator() NodeIterator {
-	return newNodeIterator(t)
+// NodeIterator returns an iterator that returns nodes of the trie. Iteration starts at
+// the key after the given start key.
+func (t *Trie) NodeIterator(start []byte) NodeIterator {
+	return newNodeIterator(t, start)
 }
 
 // Get returns the value for key stored in the trie.
diff --git a/trie/trie_test.go b/trie/trie_test.go
index cacb088244..61adbba0ca 100644
--- a/trie/trie_test.go
+++ b/trie/trie_test.go
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ func runRandTest(rt randTest) bool {
 			tr = newtr
 		case opItercheckhash:
 			checktr, _ := New(common.Hash{}, nil)
-			it := NewIterator(tr.NodeIterator())
+			it := NewIterator(tr.NodeIterator(nil))
 			for it.Next() {
 				checktr.Update(it.Key, it.Value)
 			}